Jónsi - Flóð
-
“Each of Jónsi’s works is a comprehensive world where space, sound, light and scent form an unbroken whole.
Nature is at the fore, both as subject and material. The artist draws impressions from external and internal processes such as wind, tides, daylight and tectonics - but also from breathing and the flow of the body.
Jónsi (b. 1975) is known for his work in the field of music. For the last five years he has focused on transferring his experiments to the realm of spatial experience in the context of visual art.
In the exhibition’s title work, FLÓĐ (Flood), the viewer enters a darkened space, surrounded by mist and an ambiguous scent. All around echo sounds originating from nature, digital processing and the human voice.
The sound sequence grows and escalates, the sensation extends from the ears to the bottom of the stomach, the reverberation floods the body in waves. A streak of light in the ceiling reacts to the sound and further enhances the multi-layered perception that the process offers.
The gravitational force of the moon and the sun, together with the rotation of the earth, cause the periodic rise and fall of the ocean.
As tides change, large quantities of water move toward or away from shore causing tidal currents. The tidal rhythm has been regular and predictable for millennia. Today we experience a change in sea levels, linked to factors that are all induced by ongoing global climate change: Thermal expansion, melting glaciers and the loss of earth’s major ice sheets. As a result of sea level rise, the heights of tides are also changing, reaching higher and extending further inland than in the past.”
What an experience… I wish I could share the scent, too.
#jónsi #flod #soloexhibition @reykjavikartmuseum