“We wanted to remind citizens of the raw vitality of endangered creatures,” artist says of Centre Pompidou collaboration with Aleph
People will be able to hear what extinct animals may have sounded like for the first time, thanks to Björk and AI software. The artist announced on social media that a new installation at Paris’ Centre Pompidou, titled Nature Manifesto, will feature sounds that she and producer Aleph created, along with a recording of her reading her manifesto, in association with IRCAM. The installation comes ahead of a collaboration with French and Icelandic environmental activists.
“We wanted to share their presence in an architecture representing the industrial age, far away from nature,” she wrote in a statement. “In the veins of the escalator of the museum, known as the ‘caterpillar,’ we wanted to remind citizens of the raw vitality of endangered creatures. Even though you are restlessly traveling between floors whilst listening to this sound piece, the tone of animals’ voices hopefully builds a sonic bridge toward the listeners. And in the spirit of these animals, in the magic of how they are sensually aligned with their environment, they become our teachers!
“Their ghosts remind us of improving our primordial mindfulness,” she continued. “But we didn’t only want to talk the talk but walk the walk, so together with young environmentalists in France and Iceland, we have set up a campaign. It will launch later.”
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Visitors will be able to hear Björk and Aleph’s work, which runs three minutes and 40 seconds, at Centre Pompidou between Nov. 20 and Dec. 9. It’s part of the museum’s “Biodiversity: Which culture for which future?” exhibition.
Long an environmentalist, Björk recently teased an upcoming film, Cornucopia, at Climate Week; it captured her recent tour of the same name, which included messages about saving the environment. Last year, she released a duet with Rosalía, “Oral,” to raise money to help Iceland’s native salmon population. And in 2015, she spoke out against the “rednecks” ruining Iceland’s natural beauty during an interview with Rolling Stone.
