Björk’s “Black Lake” video has been on view at New York’s MoMA for awhile now, but unless you made it to the controversial retrospective of the Icelandic artist’s work, then chances are that this will be the first time you’ve seen the piece in full. Björk advertised the Andrew Thomas Huang-directed video in a trailer that surfaced way back in February around the time that Vulnicura dropped, promising that it would be an impressive, epic visualization of one of the most gut-wrenching songs on the record. Björk’s work is as much an auditory experience as it is a visual spectacle, which is why it’s so exciting every time she drops a new video. Usually she’s costumed and made to look mystical — her limbs elongated in the accompanying video for “Lionsong,” her chest sprouting roots in the one for “Family” — but in this new piece, Björk looks kind of ordinary. Her outfits are elaborate, but her face is totally unmasked, adding an extra layer of exposure to the already raw song. Björk told Dazed the following about the piece:

dear folks

here comes the black lake video

a video me and andrew thomas huang did

i would like to thank him and james merry so strongly for going through with me the longest video process yet, especially to andrew for his talented elegant patience and for taking my first visual impulses and weaving into them his own magnificent vision :

i’m so honoured !!

it was a complex yet adventurous process to synchronise with so many departments

i would like to thank klaus biesenbach for commissioning it

and the haxan cloak, the speaker collaborators, the architect david benjamin and marco perry, who all helped me make the most ideal sound room possible for that song

and then thank derek and emma birkett and tamsin, and iris and erna

and arca for producing the music with me

can i also thank new york for a feisty five months, eight lush gigs ?

i guess its time for ‘stonemilker’ and ‘black lake’ to get out there into the world after a three month stint in a museum (after all the effort, ‘stonemilker’ was like black lake’s spontaneous baby sibling, ha ha ha)… we tried to make it in a way it was both at home there and also as a no-nonsense music video (still my fave format) and i hope you don’t mind the wait

most curious though about them next things

perhaps we don’t even have the best tools yet

and technology might be where all the senses can merge even better?

!!! here’s to some more VR vulnicura releases soon !!!

enthusiasm

björk

Watch below.

Vulnicura is out now via One Little Indian.