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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Steph Harmon

Jónsi from Sigur Rós makes a volcano: ‘It goes straight up the arse to rattle your bones’

Jónsi surrounded by black amid his artwork Hrafntinna (Obsidian), now at Mona in Hobart
Jónsi amid his artwork Hrafntinna (Obsidian), now open at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. Photograph: Mona/Jesse Hunniford

When the Fagradalsfjall volcano erupted in Iceland in March 2021, Sigur Rós singer Jón Þór “Jónsi” Birgisson was stuck in Los Angeles, gripped by both Fomo and homesickness.

It seemed everyone he knew got to be there, right up close, sharing footage of “the fucking earth erupting, right in front of you”. It had been 815 years since the last eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, and this one lasted for six months – but Birgisson was trapped by the closed borders of the pandemic.

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