Published by BARONMAG
Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona
Montalegre, 5 , 08001 Barcelona – Spain
Special opening hours: Monday–Friday 3–7pm, Saturday, Sunday and festives 10am–7pm
Björk Digital is an immersive, virtual reality exhibition that brings us a first-hand sensory, almost theatrical experience connecting the iconic Icelandic artist with her audience.
The exhibition has been curated by Björk, and immerses us in her unique creative universe, featuring digital productions stemming from her collaborations with some of the world’s leading visual programmers and artists.
Björk Digital comes to the CCCB after visiting Tokyo, Sydney, Montreal, Reykjavik, London and Los Angeles, and is a unique opportunity to visit the exhibition in Spain.
Björk Digital has been coproduced by the CCCB, Sold Out and DG Entertainment in association with Sónar. It isn’t an exhibition in the conventional sense, but an immersive virtual reality environment. Its different sections feature works created by Björk in collaboration with artists like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Alexander McQueen, Nick Knight, Stephane Sedanaoui, or the more recent ones with Jesse Kanda, Andrew Thomas Huang, Warren du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones.
The show is inspired by Björk’s latest album Vulnicura, and combines performance, film, installations, video and interactive content. It includes several audiovisual works produced with state-of-the-art, virtual reality technology.
Contents of Björk Digital
The exhibition begins with Black Lake, Björk’s groundbreaking video commissioned by New York’s Museum of Modern Art. It treats audiences to panoramic visuals and envelops them in a bespoke, cutting-edge surround-sound system. Filmed in the highlands of Iceland, the work was directed by the Los Angeles-based filmmaker Andrew Thomas Huang.
We then immerse ourselves in the artist’s changing universe through virtual reality:
Stonemilker VR, also created in association with Huang, transports the viewer to a private performance of the first track from Björk’s critically acclaimed Vulnicura album. Shot on location on a remote, windswept beach in Iceland and viewable in full 360-degree VR, the viewer is able to experience a one-to-one performance.
Quicksand VR captures, in augmented virtual reality, a live performance by Björk at Miraikan, Tokyo when she appeared wearing a 3D printed headpiece by Neri Oxman. A close collaboration with Dentsu Lab Tokyo, it was originally streamed worldwide in 360º and is now presented with additional virtual elements.
For Mouthmantra VR Björk worked with director Jesse Kanda. It takes the viewer to an extraordinary place: inside Björk’s mouth while she sings the title track from Vulnicura.
Family VR is the centrepiece in the VR anthology for Vulnicura and encapsulates the full emotional arc of Björk’s journey from despair to empowerment. Directed by Andrew Thomas Huang with co-creative direction by Björk and James Merry.
The immersive route closes with Notget VR, directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornton Jones, which presents Björk as a digital moth giantess transformed by stunning masks created by artist James Merry.
Next, a gallery showcases Björk’s extensive music videos spanning her 24-year career and her collaborations with film directors, including the award-winning Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Nick Knight and Stephane Sedanaoui.
Finally, there is a hands-on educational space where visitors can play the custom-made musical instruments from Björk’s previous album Biophilia (2012). It explores the connection between the natural and technological worlds. Visitors can disentangle the melodies and compose their own versions of tracks from the album.
source: e-flux