Björk’s Echolalia exhibition will occupy all four galleries at Iceland’s National Gallery for nearly four months—and secretly preview her first album since 2022’s Fossora.
Iceland’s most experimental artist just redefined the album announcement. Björk revealed her forthcoming record not through a traditional press release or streaming platform tease, but via an Instagram post announcing Echolalia—a multimedia exhibition running May 30 through September 20, 2026, at Iceland’s National Gallery.
Three Installations, One Musical Evolution
Echolalia comprises three distinct installations across separate gallery spaces. Ancestress honors Björk’s late mother through theatrical presentation filmed in cloud-swept Icelandic valleys, featuring crimson-clad musicians and dancers.
Sorrowful Soil creates a nine-part choral eulogy with 30 speakers connected to individual Hamrahlíðar Choir voices, positioned beneath egg-shaped video projections of molten lava flows. The unnamed third installation—built directly around material from Björk’s album currently in development—offers what organizers describe as “an introduction to the latest chapter of the artist’s ongoing explorations of transformation and collaboration.”
Album Preview Disguised as Art Installation
That unnamed first installation represents more than gallery filler—it’s your earliest access to Björk’s new musical direction. The National Gallery and Reykjavík Arts Festival jointly confirmed this installation specifically showcases songs from her album in development, making Echolalia essentially a three-dimensional album preview.
This approach continues Björk’s tradition of treating records as comprehensive sensory experiences rather than isolated sonic products, following her Biophilia app integration and Cornucopia tour’s theatrical ambitions.
Collaborative Artistry Spans Decades
The exhibition shares space with Metamorphlings, the first retrospective of British artist James Merry, whose 80 masks span a decade of collaboration with Björk and other artists including Tilda Swinton. Merry’s works combine embroidery, metalwork, 3D printing, and interactive elements, drawing from Celtic imagery and ancient rituals. His masks appeared throughout Björk’s recent projects, including the Ancestress installation’s ritual objects and various performance pieces.
Redefining Album Releases for the Streaming Era
Opening during the Reykjavík Arts Festival and running through a total solar eclipse, Echolalia positions Björk’s next album within Iceland’s cultural calendar rather than industry release schedules. For experimental music fans, this represents something more significant than clever marketing—it’s a blueprint for how artists can reclaim control over their work’s presentation while creating experiences streaming platforms can’t replicate. Your next favorite album might debut in a gallery before it reaches your headphones.
