At Iceland’s National Gallery in Reykjavík, three immersive installations explore grief, ancestry and renewal while offering a glimpse of Björk’s next creative chapter.
Björk in Bottega Veneta by Louise Trotter alongside longtime collaborator James Merry, wearing one of the artist’s handcrafted masks.
A landscape of voices, images and memories takes over Iceland’s National Gallery this summer. In ‘Echolalia’, Björk brings together three large-scale installations that move between music, film, performance and technology.
On view in Reykjavík until 20 September, the exhibition includes ‘Ancestress’ and ‘Sorrowful Soil’, two works first created for her 2022 album ‘Fossora’. Reimagined for the museum, they become immersive experiences shaped by memory, loss and connection.
Set against dramatic Icelandic landscapes, ‘Ancestress’ reflects on grief, ancestry and renewal. ‘Sorrowful Soil’ transforms the voices of the Hamrahlíð Choir into a powerful sound installation spread across thirty speakers, allowing visitors to move through the work as if inside the music itself.
The exhibition also premieres ‘Nerve Bloom’, a new film and installation developed from material linked to Björk’s forthcoming project. Created with painter Natalia Kleszczewska and computer graphics director Natalie Liu, it offers an early look at the artist’s next creative phase.
Bottega Veneta supported the production of ‘Nerve Bloom’, while Louise Trotter designed the look Björk wore for the opening, extending the dialogue between fashion and experimental art.
Part exhibition, part sonic environment, ‘Echolalia’ shows an artist who continues to reinvent how music can be experienced, shared and felt.
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