®Pink Floyd Archive“The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains,” the expansive exhibit focusing on the influential band’s history and music, officially opens its doors Saturday, May 13, at 10 a.m. local time at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The attraction, which marks the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s debut single, “Arnold Layne,” is fully sanctioned by the band’s surviving members, and takes an in-depth look at the pioneering prog-rockers, delving into their innovative music and album designs, groundbreaking concert staging and much more.
The exhibit uses multimedia elements and hundreds of artifacts to trace Pink Floyd’s story, from its mid-1960s beginnings in London’s underground psychedelic music scene, through its massive success during the 1970s and ’80s to the present day.
Among the many pieces of memorabilia featured are instruments, handwritten lyrics, vintage posters, photos and clothing items. Also on display are set pieces depicting Pink Floyd’s surreal album covers, stage props such as the giant puppets used during performances of The Wall, promo videos, and rare film clips and live performance footage.
During a press preview of the exhibition earlier this week, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason told NME that he contributed about 10 or 15 percent of the artifacts on display. He added, “Everyone’s contributed stuff, and some things have been made specially for the exhibition, which is really nice.” Mason said the nicest item he contributed is a drum kit he had custom painted with a design replicating a famous painting of a giant wave by 19th century Japanese artist Hokusai.
Mason will take part in a sold-out pre-opening Q&A event for museum members this evening.
“The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains” is scheduled to run until October 1. For more details about the exhibit, visit PinkFloydExhibition.com and VAM.ac.uk.
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