Heartbreak is “the oldest story of all”, Björk said at the press opening of her digital exhibition at Somerset House yesterday (31 August). The show centres on five 360-degree virtual reality videos the eccentric Icelandic singer has created for her 2015 album, Vulnicura—a response to her split from the American artist Matthew Barney.
For each of the videos, Björk has worked with a different director. “I’m a bit of a tyrant when I make my music, but with the visuals it’s more of a collaboration,” she said, appearing not in person at the launch, but beamed into the London venue as an avatar that features in her latest video, Family. The work is still being developed at Somerset House, but won't be on view to the public as part of the exhibition, Björk Digital, which opens today (until 23 October).
For Stonemilker VR, Björk teamed up with the Los Angeles-based film-maker Andrew Thomas Huang, who directed a video shot on a remote beach in Iceland. Viewers of the exhibition can enjoy a one-to-one recital experienced in 360-degree virtual reality. The self-taught Dalston-based artist Jesse Kanda worked with the musician on Mouthmantra VR, which rather disconcertingly transports the viewer into Björk’s mouth as she sings.
Meanwhile, Björk collaborated closely with Dentsu Lab Tokyo on Quicksand VR in which the singer appears as a glowing hologram that grows taller and closer to the viewer until she almost merges with us before exploding into a kaleidoscope of colours. Also on show is Black Lake, which was originally commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where Björk had her retrospective last year.
Like the videos for Vulnicura, the exhibition is “a work in progress”, Björk said, noting that it is due to travel to another four or five cities (it has already had outings in Sydney and Japan). The nine-track album was leaked before it was finished, which forced the singer and her team “to surrender” and release it all. “Slowly we will complete the videos for the whole album,” she said.
Despite the cutting-edge nature of the show, Björk said she is actually “a bit clumsy” with technology. “I am somebody who builds bridges between technology and the human things we do everyday.” Ultimately, Björk said technology is a liberator. “As a woman it’s really empowering because it freed me from the whole patriarchy of the studio,” she said.
