Enter Bjork at Somerset House
Bjork has been breaking the creative boundaries since she burst onto the scene in the 90s with Icelandic indie band The Sugarcubes. Her latest exhibition, Bjork Digital, proves she's once again embracing technology to bring an immersive music experience.
Using music from her 2015 album, Vulnicura, you're immediately thrown into a 360-degree experience of her song Black Lake. A song about lost love and rebirth, you saw Bjork take on an almost Heathcliff persona, in the jagged mountains of Iceland, as the bass rumbled through your core. You were encouraged to walk around the room, to follow the unfolding story across the screen. However, I didn't feel I gained anything from this - and I think most agree, as they rooted to their spot a let their eyes follow her around the room.
Stonemilker was the next visual treat, this time using VR technology to transport you to a windswept, pebble beach. She darted around, playfully approaching you and running behind you. It's the first VR experience I had and I felt in awe at virtually meeting one of my heroes.
With the buzz of Stonemilker still resonating, I was excited to see the next stage of Bjork's eccentricity, but I have to confess, I didn't care for it. The VR experience of Mouthmantra, did exactly what it said on the tin. It was a 3-minute adventure into Bjork's warbling mouth. If I'd wanted to see an oscillating tongue and quivering uvula, I would've become a dentist.
The final VR experience was my favourite. And to my delight, I was treated to it twice. It was fantastical, neon fairytale to the forlorn anthem, Notget. You saw an imp-like, bejeweled Bjork strain out pained lyrics about how a lost love kept her safe from death. She danced and jolted, looking alien and strangely serene. As the track builds to a crescendo, Bjork began to march and grow gargantuan with every step. My view of this, I stayed put in the virtual world and watched as she stomped towards me. On the second viewing, I was asked to step inside her and look around and look at the psychedelic visualisation of her inner workings. Her subsequent video for Notget gives you a little taster of the experience, as the linked YouTube video doesn't really touch the sides.
The tour ended with a reminder of her genius through the years, playing videos for All Is Full of Love, Venus As a Boy and It's Oh So Quiet.
With this exhibition, Bjork is once again blazing a trail of innovation and blending the arts and science to create something that electrifies all the senses and emotions.
Using music from her 2015 album, Vulnicura, you're immediately thrown into a 360-degree experience of her song Black Lake. A song about lost love and rebirth, you saw Bjork take on an almost Heathcliff persona, in the jagged mountains of Iceland, as the bass rumbled through your core. You were encouraged to walk around the room, to follow the unfolding story across the screen. However, I didn't feel I gained anything from this - and I think most agree, as they rooted to their spot a let their eyes follow her around the room.
Stonemilker was the next visual treat, this time using VR technology to transport you to a windswept, pebble beach. She darted around, playfully approaching you and running behind you. It's the first VR experience I had and I felt in awe at virtually meeting one of my heroes.
With the buzz of Stonemilker still resonating, I was excited to see the next stage of Bjork's eccentricity, but I have to confess, I didn't care for it. The VR experience of Mouthmantra, did exactly what it said on the tin. It was a 3-minute adventure into Bjork's warbling mouth. If I'd wanted to see an oscillating tongue and quivering uvula, I would've become a dentist.
The final VR experience was my favourite. And to my delight, I was treated to it twice. It was fantastical, neon fairytale to the forlorn anthem, Notget. You saw an imp-like, bejeweled Bjork strain out pained lyrics about how a lost love kept her safe from death. She danced and jolted, looking alien and strangely serene. As the track builds to a crescendo, Bjork began to march and grow gargantuan with every step. My view of this, I stayed put in the virtual world and watched as she stomped towards me. On the second viewing, I was asked to step inside her and look around and look at the psychedelic visualisation of her inner workings. Her subsequent video for Notget gives you a little taster of the experience, as the linked YouTube video doesn't really touch the sides.
The tour ended with a reminder of her genius through the years, playing videos for All Is Full of Love, Venus As a Boy and It's Oh So Quiet.
With this exhibition, Bjork is once again blazing a trail of innovation and blending the arts and science to create something that electrifies all the senses and emotions.
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