Björk has opened a major new exhibition at the National Gallery of Iceland. ‘Echolalia’ launched on May 30 and runs throughout the summer until September 20, taking over all four galleries of the museum.
Crucially, the exhibition spans three immersive installations. The first gallery features new work pulled from Björk‘s forthcoming album. As a result, it offers a rare preview of the Icelandic artist’s next chapter.
Notably, two pieces honour her late mother. ‘Ancestress’ and ‘Sorrowful Soil’ pay tribute to environmental activist Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir, who passed in 2018. Furthermore, both works appear at theatrical scale across the gallery space.
Meanwhile, ‘Ancestress’ takes the form of a ritualistic procession of musicians and dancers, including Björk herself accompanied by her son Sindri Eldon in the chorus. Indeed, ‘Sorrowful Soil’ is a nine-part polyphonic choral requiem expressing the loss of the mother as a life force.
Equally, the project comes with a one-day rave. On August 12, Björk will stage ‘Echolalia’, a solar eclipse event timed to a rare astronomical alignment. In short, she will perform a DJ set alongside Arca, Sideproject and Ronja.
Still, the broader scope is the point. The exhibition interweaves art, nature and technology. Crucially, Björk continues to push past genre and medium with Echolalia.