Icelandic musician Björk and French artist Aleph will present a collaborative AI sound installation at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, beginning on November 20th. The exhibition is part of the museum’s “Biodiversity: Which culture for which future?” forum, which will take place from November 20th to 24th.
The immersive installation, titled Nature Manifesto (2024), will feature extinct and endangered animal calls, replicated by AI, which will play through speakers in the museum’s distinctive escalator system. The calls will be overlaid with a spoken manifesto read by Björk. The two artists created the audio project, which will remain installed at the museum until December 9th, in collaboration with the French sound research institute IRCAM.
“We wanted to share [the animals’] presence in an architecture representing the industrial age, far away from nature,” Björk and Aleph said in a joint 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 soundpiece, the tone of animals’ voices hopefully builds a sonic bridge towards 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!”
Björk’s advocacy for climate and environmental issues is ongoing. She recently announced a concert film documenting her “Cornucopia” tour at Climate Week in New York. Last year, she collaborated with the Spanish singer Rosalía on the song “Oral” and donated the proceeds to a legal fund combating industrial fishing in Iceland.
For its environmental forum, the Centre Pompidou is partnering with the French Office for Diversity to invite artists, researchers, and the general public to discuss the dangers of climate change and the threats to global diversity. Alongside the sound installation, the museum will present a solo exhibition by Italian artist Alex Cecchetti, titled “Le Concile des Abysses.”
“Why focus on biodiversity at the Centre Pompidou? In reality, the richness and vibrancy of life have long permeated spaces of art and culture—from Dürer’s hare to Monet’s water lilies, Franz Marc’s little horses, and Gilles Aillaud’s sea lions, artworks have shaped and transformed our understanding of life,” said Mathieu Potte-Bonneville, director of the culture and creation department at the Centre Pompidou. “If museums are schools of attention, we believe that this attention can raise awareness of the crisis facing species and ecosystems today.”
