Jónsi at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

On view: November 16, 2019–January 9, 2020

When we think about creative disciplines, we often consider each field separately: We hear music, look at art, or experience a theatre performance. Yet in Hollywood, Sigur Rós’ Jónsi has created a sensory musical experience that fully encompasses the body. The main work, Whiteout, is a blank white space with two large benches that you can sit or lay on. Multiple speakers are hidden in the walls, creating a surround sound chorus of Jónsi’s ethereal vocals. At times, the chorus swells, and the benches (embedded with subwoofers) begin to vibrate heavily as LED lights overhead pulse to elicit thunder claps. The exhibition includes two other immersive soundscapes, and each includes a signature scent that the artist created to further place the viewer within his hypnotic artworks. The base scents of ozone, seaweed, and Cadaverine (a fascinating mix of decaying flesh and sperm) lend an uncanny and emotive understanding, which push the auditory much further to induce emotion, memory, and a felt experience.