Genelec is partnering with music icon Björk for her immersive exhibition, “Echolalia,” at the National Gallery of Iceland as part of the 2026 Reykjavík Arts Festival.
Running from late May through September 2026, the exhibition focuses on Björk’s multidisciplinary approach to sound, visual art, performance, ecology, ritual, and collaboration.
The project is built around three large-scale installations, inviting visitors on a sensory journey through Björk’s artistic world. Drawing on the works Ancestress, Sorrowful Soil, and the newly introduced Nerve Bloom. Set in a remote valley in Iceland, Ancestress, reflects on the cyclical nature of life through a ritualistic procession of musicians and dancers. Sorrowful Soil is a nine-part choral work – a requiem in which canon-like melodies move between three groups of singers in a polychoral arrangement. At the opening of the Echolalia exhibition, Björk also unveiled Nerve Bloom, offering audiences a first glimpse of a new track from her forthcoming album.
Rather than taking the form of a traditional retrospective, this exhibition reimagines the format as an immersive environment where sound, space, and emotion become central to the audience's experience. Thirty speakers each transmit a single voice from the Hamrahlíð choir, conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Here, sound plays a central role in shaping the atmosphere and emotional connection of the exhibition. The multichannel audio system has been carefully designed to support Björk’s artistic vision, allowing visitors to experience the work as the artist intended.