Jeremy Deller at Manchester Art Gallery
Print programme for this event designed by Textbook Studio and himHallows
In January 2014, Video Jam was commissioned by Manchester Art Gallery to curate an event in response to Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller’s Hayward Touring Exhibition All That Is Solid Melts Into Air. We compiled a programme of short films with original live accompaniment to reflect and explore the exhibition’s socio-political themes within a wide variety of genres.
As curators, the invitation gave us an opportunity to delve into Manchester’s rich social history, and to select musicians and filmmakers we felt represented the different pockets of culture Manchester has to offer. We commissioned three pairs of filmmakers and composers to work together to create new work, which were premiered at the event alongside existing films with new live scores. The evening began with a rendition of 'Hi Ho' from the Northern Quarter Boys Choir wearing hard hats, and ended with a full scale parade through the streets of Manchester, lead by the Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band. The event attracted an audience of over 1,000.
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Running order
Dream Machine (5.30 mins) by Sarah Rowland Hill scored by Bernard + Edith
Banquet of Love (6.20 mins) by Haruka Mitani scored by Harlequin Dynamite Marching Band
Tangram (10.26 mins) by Katharina Huber scored by Monster Island
Linger (5.32 mins) by Nick Delap scored by Young British
Film as Fabric Lace and Thread by Mary Stark scored by Chaines (*New Commission)
Zombie Pride V (5.12 mins) by Tranarchy scored by Mike Seal and the Mudsharks
Marxism: The Theory that Split the World (14.23 mins) by George Kaczender scored by David McLean
I Hope you Make Brunel Your Hero by Hannah & Amy Buckley scored by Jennifer Reid (*New Commission)
Ghost in the Machine by AHRKA scored by KHOM (*New Commission)
Steel (24 mins) by Jack Cardiff scored by HORRID
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About the exhibition
Jeremy Deller has been a hugely influential in the story of British art over the past two decades helping to re-write the rules of contemporary artistic practice. In the exhibition Deller questions the effects of the Industrial Revolution not only on the landscape and economy but also on the consciousness and culture of the people. Combining 19th century images, sound, folk music and objects with contemporary music and photography, intriguing parallels are drawn between the mining and service industries, Northern urbanisation and glam-rock and the rhythms of the Victorian factory oor and contemporary house. Deller who represented Britain in last year’s Venice Biennale, describes himself as a ‘self-taught conceptual artist.’ Here, he adopts the role of curator and social anthropologist within this focused and personal study of British labour, leisure and community life.
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Special thanks:
Jeremy Deller, John Mouncey, Kate Jesson, Gilly Fox, Maria Balshaw, Shay Dawes, Martin Grimes, Raikes Parade, Nicholas Wood, Manchester Scenewipe, Jonny Wharton, Neuron Pro Audio Ltd, Common, Plastic Zoo, Duncan Sime, Rivca Burns, Jamie Hargreaves, James Moss, Stop Making Sense, Sam Alder, Textbook Studio, Paul ‘himHallows’ Hallows, MONO, Royal Exchange Theatre, Joe Clifford, John Wojowski, Steve Hockett, Slip imprint, Tom O’Meara, Michael Lyons, Chris Paul Daniels, Islington Mill, David Butler, David Gledhill, & the staff at Manchester Art Gallery.