The recent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland inspired interdisciplinary artist and musician Jónsi (of Sigur Rós) to create two new sound installations and sculptural works that infuse the senses, including ambient sounds, mechanically generated frequencies, samples from nature, his own voice as well as earthy, atmospheric fragrances that help to transport viewers. On the ground floor, visitors enter a darkened room that has a central plinth surrounded by about two hundred speakers that'll play a choral hymn in four parts added to soundscapes of gritty rocks and searing lava. It'll be layered over with smoky, tar-like aromas of fossilized amber to further transport his audience into the belly of a volcano.
In the upstairs galleries, resin and obsidian glass sculptures sit at each end of one room while crackling sounds play over visuals of burnt walnut trees, showing how destructive volcanic forces are. Another sound installation affixed with flower-shaped metallic discs and LEDs, pulsates with light in short bursts, blinking slowly at first before swelling into rapid-fire successions—a nod to Brion Gysin’s 1960s "Dream Machine."
All of this launches in tandem with the release of Jónsi’s third solo musical album that is also inspired by the volcano.