No Tomorrow is a new video installation by Ragnar Kjartansson, Margrét Bjarnadóttir, and composer Bryce Dessner. It is currently on view at Luhring Augustine in Chelsea, NYC, until Dec 17th and at De Pont Museum, in Tilburg, the Netherlands until Jan 29th. 2023.
Spanning six screens that encircle the room, the installation surrounds viewers with a performance of spatial music written for eight dancers with eight guitars. Recorded from the center of the performers’ space, the installation is kaleidoscopic, capturing the dancers as they weave within each screen and across the channels; their movements and melodies ranging from pastorale to rock and roll. Combining a variety of classic Western references – blue jeans and white t-shirts, the draped silk curtains of mid-20th century song and dance films, as well as lyrics drawn from the Archaic Greek poet Sappho and adventurer Vivant Denon, two sensualists millennia apart – the work spins notions of idealization and iconography. It is also a reflection on our ideals of beauty, our search for it, and the absurdity of its representations, inspired by the frivolity and reality of Rococo paintings, classical ballet, and modern pop music videos. The performance was initially commissioned for the Iceland Dance Company in 2017, and the new video work features the original cast of performers, all of whom were integral to the development of the work.
INTERVIEW – BJÖRK UNRAVELLED (PODCAST)
Savannah Wright, host of the podcast series Björk Unravelled, interviewed Margrét about working with Björk and the flute players for the Utopia and Cornucopia tours.
LISTEN
SPEECH ON WORLD THEATRE DAY
Margrét gave a speech on World Theatre Day 2020 on the stage of the empty Icelandic National Theatre. It was live-streamed here ( in Icelandic).
NEW MUSIC VIDEO
Margrét filmed and directed a music video to a new song – POST COITAL – by Special-K, from her new album, LUnatic thirST. Watch here.
INTERVIEW IN DAZED
There is a Björk and Cornucopia takeover in Dazed with interviews with Björk and her collaborators. Here you can read an interview with Margrét about choreographing Cornucopia, along with all the other interviews.
SEQUENCES 2019
Margrét takes part in Sequences real time art festival in Reykjavík which takes place October 11. - 20.
A short interview with Margrét in Stundin.
MUSEUM OF HUMAN EMOTIONS
Margrét will be performing at the B-Motion part of Operaestate Festival in Bassano del Grappa, Italy, August 22. – 25.
PRINTS FOR SALE
POSTPRENT sells prints by various Icelandic artist. Margrét has two prints for sale in their online shop.
MUSIC VIDEO
Margrét made a video to the song ‘Douves’ from Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason’s very unique and beautiful album, Chateau, produced by President Bongo. This is Bjarni Frímann’s first solo album and the fourth in the series ‘Les Aventures de President Bongo’. It will be released in May.
The video follows a flower for 11 minutes, struggling to stay alive.
WATCH HERE
MOVEMENT – NON-EVENT
SPECTACULAR, international performance festival in Reykjavík
4 channel video installation
Margrét begins the task of collecting and documenting her own movements. Not practical everyday movements or the moves and steps you might learn in a dance school – but rather the movements that we can’t quite place, or that we don’t know the source of, or the movements that well up from the deep.
Every body is a an endless well of movements. Margrét’s library of movements will preserve and catalogue her own distinct movement signatures. Such movements are closely connected to feelings and the subconscious and therefore not unlike dreams that might only appear once and then never again.
Her library is a collection of raw gestures, movement strands and cryptic signals. It is a search for something that may or may not exist — the body’s secret scriptures.
INTERVIEW in KALTBLUT - MAGAZINE
Margrét was recently interviewed about her work, living in Iceland etc. in the Berlin based KALTBLUT magazine.
INTERVIEW
An interview with Margrét in Mannlíf about choreographing seven flute players for Björk´s Utopia tour.
Picture: Hákon Davíð Björnsson
BJÖRK – UTOPIA TOUR
Björk will do a dress rehearsal for her Utopia tour in Háskólabíó, Iceland on April 9th and 12th.
Margrét has been working on the choreography for the show. This will be the first show in front of an audience and a very intimate performance as the venue only holds 950 guests.
Utopia is scheduled to tour for the next 2 years.
Björk will be joined at Háskólabíó by:
Margrét Bjarnadóttir - choreography
Heimir Sverrisson - stage design
Melkorka Ólafsdóttir, Áshildur Haraldsdóttir, Berglind María Tómasdóttir, Steinunn Vala Pálsdóttir, Björg Brjánsdóttir, Þuríður Jónsdóttir and Emilía Rós Sigfúsdóttir - flutes
Bergur Þórisson - electronics and trombone
Manu Delago - drums and percussion
BJÖRK – "UTOPIA" – MUSIC VIDEO
Margrét recently choreographed the music video "Utopia" from Björk´s new album, Utopia. The video was directed by Nick Thornton Jones and Warren Du Preez.
LODDARI /// THE FRAUD – a solo exhibition
Margrét recently opened her solo exhibition – LODDARI – at Listamenn Gallery in Reykjavík ( on until December 9th.) The exhibition consists of glass sculptures, photographs and text works. In conjunction with the exhibition, Margrét published the book ORÐIÐ Á GÖTUNNI (WORD ON THE STREET) – a collection of phrases that she overheard from passersby and collected in the years 2009 – 2013.
THE OATH IN CINEMAS IN THE U.S.
The Oath opens in cinemas in 25 cities across the US today. More information here.
INTERVIEW IN THE QUIETUS
The Quietus interviewed Ragnar and Margrét about No Tomorrow - their ballet for eight dancers and eight guitars. It will play at The Royal Festival Hall in London on August 18th and 19th!
INTERVIEW
Jaclyn Bethany, writer, director of Indigo Valley – a film shooting in Iceland this summer – interviewed Margrét on her blog where she will continue to profile artists and filmmakers from Iceland and beyond.
Stay tuned ... https://indigovalleyfilm.tumblr.com/
Photo by: Saga Sig
GRÍMAN AWARDS
No Tomorrow received two awards at last night´s Gríman awards (The Icelandic dance, theatre, stage awards): "Choreographers of the year" as well as overall "Production of the year". It´s the first time in the history of these awards that a dance piece receives "Production of the year". We are thrilled and thankful!
TOURING
Confirmed dates for No Tomorrow´s touring schedule are as follows:
May 26th and 27th – SPRING Festival Utrecht
June 20th – Arctic Arts Festival, Harstad
August 18th, 19th and 20th – Southbank Centre
September 7., 8., 9. & 10. – Tanzhaus, Dusseldorf
November 18. & 19. – Kunstcentrum, BUDA, Kortrijk
More dates soon to be announced.
