Bjork

Icelandic musician and artist takes Australian fans through a celebration of nature and the culmination of all she has worked on since 1993's Debut.

After she finishes her main set, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg appears as a projection, directly addressing – and challenging – the crowd on the climate emergency, in a region of the world that has gotten fat, comfortable and rich from fossil fuels. And the first step is to show up. It reminds me of how, in the world of Tolkien – another artist who celebrated the sanctity of nature – it is believed nature was sung into existence. What we witnessed on the opening night of Cornucopia – the first of four shows Björk will play in Australia, and a Björk has pointed out that the two albums are in conversation: both delve into concepts of nature, healing and regeneration. And Cornucopia is ultimately a celebration of nature. The result is a pure headrush. Two songs – Ovule and Atopos – represent the first time Björk has performed them live anywhere in the world. But for me, it is simply describing the sound of it.” They won the bid by pitching to the renowned nature-enthusiast – who collaborated with Sir David Attenborough during 2011’s Biophilia – that Noongar Boodjar is “one of the most biodiverse places on the planet”. Think of how synonymous her early hits were with her videos: her deranged cartoon self tearing apart a chicken in I Miss You; the emotional eruptions of her home country in Jóga; the sexual intensity of Pagan Poetry, in which a nude and post-coital Björk literally sews her body into a wedding dress. [Perth](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/perth-news) festival exclusive – was the ultimate expression of her artistry, an electrifying culmination of everything she has worked on since 1993’s Debut.