Music and art come together to celebrate one of the most influential bands of the last 30 years at the University of Greenwich this month.
Where Is My Mind? The Work of Vaughan Oliver and the Pixies is the first major exhibition exploring the long-standing collaboration between legendary art director and designer Vaughan Oliver and the Pixies.
Curated by Nic Clear, Head of Architecture and Landscape at the university, the exhibition opens on Friday 26 February at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, running until Saturday 9 April.
Vaughan will be giving a free public lecture on Thursday 25 February (Stockwell Street, Room 11_0003, 6.30-7.30pm) followed by an evening preview of the exhibition.
Nic says: "From Come on Pilgrim to Indie Cindy and beyond, the combination of Vaughan Oliver's art direction and the Pixies' unique sound has resulted in a sonic and visual partnership. It is a synthesis of music, image and text that combine to create a strange, surreal and wholly beautiful body of work.
"You can appreciate and love the music and the images separately but together they create one of the most celebrated artistic collaborations of the last 30 years.
"When the creative output of one of the most important music groups intersects with the visual genius of a hugely influential designer working in collaboration with a team of highly innovative photographers and illustrators, the results can only be described as epoch defining."
There are two parts to the exhibition. The first, located in the gallery, is a retrospective of the artwork from the Pixies' six studio albums, associated releases and rarities. As well as final artwork the exhibition will feature original material exploring Vaughan Oliver's creative process.
The second part, in the Stockwell Street Project Space, is a collaborative installation between Vaughan Oliver, who is also Creative Lead of Graphic Design in the Department of Creative Profession and Digital Arts, and Nic Clear.
Vaughan was included in a publication last year from Lewis Blackwell publishers, authored by Caroline Roberts, Graphic Design Visionaries. In it he was profiled as one of 75 designers from the last 100 years of graphic design. He has been exhibited from Tokyo to Paris to LA but this is the first specific Pixies exhibition.
The installation is based upon the Pixies' Minotaur limited edition box set and incorporates a range of text, image, video and objects organised as a series of layered spaces to create an uncanny labyrinthine environment.
Independent South London craft brewery Orbit Beers has produced a limited edition pale ale for the show called Hey after a song on the Doolittle album. Vaughan designed the label.
The Stephen Lawrence Gallery: 10 Stockwell Street, London, SE10 8EY. Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday, 11 - 5pm; Saturday 11 – 4pm. Closed Easter Bank Holiday Weekend from Friday 25 - Monday 28 March inclusive.
For more information visit: http://www.greenwichunigalleries.co.uk/where-is-my-mind-the-work-of-vaughan-oliver-and-the-pixies/ or contact the gallery on ugg@gre.ac.uk or 020 8331 8260.
Picture: Pixies Minotaur Box Set, designed by Vaughan Oliver (2009).