A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book
Self-Disclosure and Masking Strategies in the Music Videos of Björk's Vulnicura
Authors: Richardson, John
Editors: Anna-Elena Pääkkölä; Mathias Korsgaard; John Richardson
Publisher: Routledge
Publication year: 2025
Book title : Nordic Music Videos
Series title: Ashgate Screen Music Series
First page : 44
Last page: 62
ISBN: 978-1-03-284589-0
eISBN: 978-1-00-351400-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003514008-4
Web address : https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003514008-4
This chapter argues that Björk's Vulnicura represents a turning point in the Icelandic artist's career that is characterised by two apparently contradictory tendencies. On the one hand, confessionality, in the context of what has widely been considered a breakup album, from mourning the decline and eventual demise of a relationship to a search for personal transformation. On the other hand, a renewed interest in ever more elaborate masks and use of personas. I argue that these tendencies are interrelated: self-disclosure necessitates differentiation of the artist from her work. Close readings of “Stonemilker,” “Black Lake,” “Lionsong,” “Notget,” “Family,” and “Mouth Mantra” discuss how strategies of self-disclosure and masking in the music and the visual imagery map out an emotional terrain made up not only of melancholy and mourning, but also regenerative energy. As in Björk's earlier works, the Icelandic context is part of the expressive palette, with images that are as dark, austere, and volatile as the accompanying music. The article draws on several explanatory frameworks, including research on Icelandic popular music, the author's work on surrealism, theories of personal narrative and artistic persona, writing on age and gender, and frame theory including the concept of frame resonance.