We immerse ourselves in the virtual world created by the Icelandic artist Björk.

You are in Barcelona from June 14 to September 24, 2017? You have great interest in  the world of new technologies and or you are in love with the music of Björk? Well then you have an appointment at the Center of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona you cannot miss!

At the center you can enjoy the exhibition “Björk Digital” and live a totally immersive experience in which you can immerse yourself in the virtual world that the Icelandic artist has created and has already visited cities like London, Sydney, Tokyo, Montreal, Reykjavik or Los Angeles. In RVD Media Group we did not want to miss this magnificent exhibition so we went to see and below we will share our experiences.

Björk has always been a lover of the latest technologies and this time it shows by entering in her particular creative universe where she collaborates with the best programmers and visual artists of the world.

In the last 30 years the artist has always tried to endorse her videos and creations with her music and any visual resource, going beyond to try to do more than just a music video.

“Björk Digital” shows us what virtual reality means according the Icelandic artist, the concept she proposes is to have a “you to you” relationship with the visitor.

Björk Digital at CCCB – Virtual reality exhibition.

The show is more than an exhibition, it is like a concert where you are the protagonist of Björk videos and you enjoy a sensory experience based on themes extracted from her latest album “Vulnicura (2015)”, an ideal job to delve into virtual reality because her songs speak of a very specific story which has a chronological character with what Björk wanted to make a technological opera, combining performance, cinema, installation, video and interaction. 

The exhibition consists of a part of images and sound, 5 parts of virtual reality 360º, an interactive pedagogical space with instruments created for her previous album Biophilia (2012) and finally projections of her extensive videographic work.

Tour of “Björk Digital”

The tour began with Black Lake, the innovative 10-minute video clip directed by Andrew Thomas Huang and created by the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art of New York). A video shot in a mountainous area of Iceland where Björk wants to show her mood after her divorce, showing us a landscape dominated by the darkness that only clears up at the final part of the video with idyllic landscapes of green meadows and mountains . The experience gives the viewer panoramic images projected onto two screens, placed opposite each other, and a brutal surround sound quality.

Then we start the inmersive experience through virtual reality with two videos: Stonemilker VR and Mouthmantra VR.

The first video (Stonemilker) is one of the most exciting of the exhibition. Suddenly you are on an Icelandic beach of volcanic soil and Björk sings practically two spans of your face until there is a moment where the artist triples, resulting having an image of her in front of you, one to your right and another one to your left, offering you an exclusive and very intimate recital.

Mouthmantra VR, also in collaboration with Huang, transports you into the mouth of Björk. It’s a pretty dark and experimental video. For five minutes you are inside björk’s mouth, submerged in the darkness.

NotGet VR– The video in which the Icelandic artist shows us those impressive masks designed by the artist James Merry. We plunge into the water and you are surrounded by dark futuristic jellyfish and rocks that shoot up to the surface and almost touch your face on occasion. The video is directed by Warren Du Preez and Nick Thornrton Jones.

We arrive at the end of the tour with two 360º experiences in which the visitor interacts with the singer. First with Quicksand VR, video that plays in virtual reality augmented a performance that Björk realized in Miraikan of Tokyo where Björk appears with a headdress printed in 3D, work of Neri Oxman. This video was originally broadcast on the internet and in real time in 360º format. For the exhibition the video has additional virtual elements.

After Family VR becomes the centerpiece of the exhibition. Here, thanks to some controls that we were previously supplied, you can help a cybernetic Björk to sew a wound with your own hands. Incredible the moment the artist approaches you and you can enter with your face Bjork`s virtual brain. The video captures moments of despair and empowerment of Björk.

Vídeo: Family VR

Finally, we arrive at the room full of cushions where all the videos of Björk are projected, showing us her collaborations with artists like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, Alexander McQueen, Nick Knight or Stephane Sedanaoui.

At RVD Media Group we are always attentive to the latest technologies and for this reason we strongly recommend this exhibition. As experts in graphic design, developing corporate identity, magazine layout and 3D images and different types of visual communication of your brand, we believe that virtual reality will increasingly being used by many artists and other sectors such as tourism, medicine, Simulations of virtual flights, cinemas, educational activities or games of virtual reality.