‘New Order: Art, Product, Image 1976-1995’

A new exhibition at Sprüth Magers explores British identity from the ‘70s to the ‘90s in a range of diverse works. ‘New Order: Art, Product, Image 1976-1995’ was selected by novelist and cultural commentator Michael Bracewell, and features the works of influential artists such as Peter Saville and Damien Hirst.

Highlights include Karen Knorr and Olivier Richon’s collection of photographs from London’s early punk clubs in ’76 and ’77. Saville’s influential vinyl sleeve for the seminal New Order track ‘Blue Monday’ is on display, while Damien Hirst’s ‘Satellite’ – a fully stocked medicine cabinet named after a Sex Pistols b-side – also features. Gillian Wearing’s ‘Dancing In Peckham shows the artist silently performing in a busy South London shopping centre, as captured on a home video camera in 1994.

All these works highlight an inherent relation to identity and autonomy on the cusp of the postmodern computer age. There is a radical sense of escapism and a need to break free of constraints, portrayed through the use of lo-fi technology, ordinary spaces and friends.

‘New Order: Art, Product, Image 1976-1995’ runs until September 14th at the Sprüth Magers gallery in London.