This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on the art world stretching boundaries with new artists, new audiences and new technology.
It’s rare to experience art in a nearly totally dark room. But last year at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, that’s where visitors found themselves when they entered “FLØÐ (Flood),” a site-specific installation created by the Icelandic artist and musician Jonsi (Jon Birgisson).
Lit only by an LED strip running the length of the ceiling, the installation featured gentle fog misting into the space and looping audio of some 25 minutes of Jonsi’s music. Featuring choral singing and field recordings made in the Icelandic countryside, the sound rolled through the room like a wave. The subtle scent that wafted in via hidden diffusers was an earthy coastal smell crafted from tinctured and distilled seaweed.
Today, artists like Jonsi and his family-run collective, Fischersund, are moving art beyond the realm of the visual and into experiences that need to be heard, felt and even smelled to be believed. The success of these experiences has inspired them to keep creating them.
“I just love triggering the senses,” said Jonsi via a video call from his home in Los Angeles. “When you go into an art exhibition, you just want to feel something, you want to be moved.”
By any measure, “FLØÐ,” which ran from March to July 2023, was a smashing success. The museum’s chief curator Leslie Anne Anderson said that the museum experienced a 12.5 percent increase in membership during the exhibition, parts of which traveled to the Reykjavik Art Museum’s Hafnarhús (Harbor House).
Visitors returned again and again to the misty space in Seattle, often sitting in the dark, sound- and scent-filled room for hours at a time.