Drawing Restraint 9

Myth and biology collide in this beguiling collaboration between Björk and Matthew Barney.

On a whaling boat in the waters of Japan's Nagasaki Bay, two occidental guests arrive and hand themselves over to an elaborate and increasingly unusual tea ceremony. Surrounding this, other tasks are performed to ceremonial precision. A group of young women dive for pearls, ambergris is harvested from the ocean and petroleum jelly is moulded into a new form.

Curator's note

Following his celebrated Cremaster Cycle, which has screened in full at ACMI several times, Matthew Barney's 2005 film offers a continuation of the visual artist's creative obsessions. For this work, collaboration is key with Barney enlisting his real-life partner at the time, Björk, as the score composer and his onscreen costar.

Björk's musical contribution is delicate and restrained often allowing individual instruments to have oxygen and space. Matthew Barney also contributed on some of the musical pieces with Björk.

Fitting into Barney's broader Drawing Restraint project which spans art practices and began when Barney was a student, this 9th work in the series premiered at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)