Pink Floyd's pig set to fly again
Members of veteran rock act Pink Floyd have collaborated once more, to create a major exhibition which will see items such as the band's inflatable pig brought out of retirement and displayed alongside rarely seen items.
The three surviving musicians - Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason - have been involved in planning Their Mortal Remains which will bring together around 300 artefacts from the band's decades of recordings and performance.
It is being built in the UK and designers responsible for the group's artwork and live shows will work on what is described as a "multi-sensory" exhibition.
As well chronicling the Floyd's history and development from debut album The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn onwards, it will also include some solo elements.
It will open at an old factory in Milan, Italy, covering 27,000 sq ft (2,500 sq m) in September and there are hopes it may visit other locations.
Waters left the group in the early 1980s but, after years of ill-feeling, he re-joined the line-up for a one-off performance at Live 8 in Hyde Park in 2005. Keyboard player Richard Wright died in 2008.
Among the exhibits will be a huge sculpture of The Wall, which graced the stage during concerts for the album of that name, as well as stage inflatables including the pig which first featured on the sleeve of Animals and later became part of their live show.
Among those working on the project are Aubrey Powell, from the Hipgnosis art team which masterminded the band's artwork, and the firm Stufish, which worked on their stage designs.
Mr Powell, the exhibition curator, said: "If ever a band lent itself to a major retrospective exhibition it's Pink Floyd. For a curator, selecting what to include from such a treasure trove, is both a dream and a nightmare.
" However there were elements that just had to be included, for example a 20m (66ft) wide sculpture of The Wall, 5m (16ft) high inflatables and of course a flying pig. We shall be aiming for state-of-the-art, visuals and sonic delivery, similar to the experience of attending a Pink Floyd concert - you never know what to expect next."
Tickets go on sale on Thursday for the exhibition which will be staged at Milan's La Fabbrica Del Vapore from September 19.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the group's formation.
