Watch an artist at work. Joe Moran's Live Creations

Joe Moran, Artistic Director of Dance Art Foundation, is the latest artist to exhibit work as part of The Lowry’s Edit series.

Untitled (spray paint work) - courtesy Joe Moran — Untitled (spray paint work) – courtesy Joe Moran

The British-Irish artist and choreographer has taken over two of the venue’s gallery spaces with his multi-media and multi-dimensional project, Live Creations.

Joe’s practice merges physical and visual arts, incorporating theatre and gallery performance, curatorial projects, lecture-performance, drawing and spray paint works. In this exhibition, Joe brings all these elements together, using the Lowry’s white-walled gallery space as a blank canvas studio in which to create new work as part of the three-week residency.

Here and Not, Joe Moran and Sam Williams, photography David Edwards

Unlike previous major exhibitions at The Lowry, visitors can experience an artist’s work-in-progress. During the exhibition Joe will rotate between research and experiment with spray paint and a sound piece. He is inviting seven dancers into the space to research a new dance work with a working title ‘Before We’re Dead.’

As the work progresses Joe will present an exhibition of visual art works and the dancers will perform ‘Before We’re Dead’ as well as one of Joe’s previous choreographed pieces, ‘On the habit of being oneself.’

On The Habit of Being Oneself

These performances can be viewed alongside Joe’s film installation, ‘Here and Not’, created in collaboration with Sam Williams and new wall pieces, drawn in spray paint.

Visiting on the opening weekend there was a sense that the visitors will also play a part in what will be created, and that adds an excitement to this work in progress that we may be part of something not-yet visualised. A sound-installation runs through the main gallery, where Joe is working on new drawings and spray paintings. Some of his works are exhibited on the walls in the same gallery and one of his films is running on a screen at the entrance to the gallery.

Joe’s spray paintings, although abstract, have the appearance of colourful mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of the cells. This feels quite fitting for art that is experienced with over-laid voices talking about the human experience of inhabiting a body.

Before We Are Dead research image - courtesy Joe Moran — Before We Are Dead research image – courtesy Joe Moran

Live Creations is the fourth of the Lowry’s Edit series, which gives artists and performers a physical space to work and time to develop previously unexplored ideas into new works.. Previous installations being Homebird by Manchester’s DJ Paulette, London-based artist Paddy Hartley and Salford-based textile collective, Thread.

Live Creations by Joe Moran is at The Lowry’s Andrew and Zoe Law Galleries from 23 March to 14 April 2019.

Joe Moran and the dancers will be in residence in the Galleries on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 March; Monday 1 and Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 April. There will be a final performance of Joe’s new work on Saturday 13 April. See The Lowry website for details.