About the Exhibition

At the intersection of experimental electronic pop and contemporary classical music, film composer and cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir (b. 1982) creates work that is contemplative in nature. Her scores for films including Mary Magdalene (UK/Australia/USA, 2018), Strong Island (USA, 2017), and The Oath (Eiðurinn, Iceland, 2016) express an empathetic connection with characters and events. Guðnadóttir’s Academy Award–winning score for Joker (USA, 2019) evokes a melancholy that is at once powerful and controlled, beautifully reflecting the film’s tone. She began composing at the script stage—an unusual approach—and her early demos inspired Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in the title role, including his improvised dancing. This installation, conceived by Guðnadóttir specifically for the museum, immerses visitors in an aural landscape reminiscent of her film compositions. It expands beyond the moving image and forms a magical, hypnotic space. Visitors experience this with truly immersive audio in Dolby Atmos.

This gallery is devoted to the film score and the composers behind them. A film score is original music written by a composer to accompany a film’s visuals. The score is part of the film's soundtrack and helps to create a vivid cinematic world. It can support the storytelling by building tension at pivotal plot points or conjure a spectrum of emotions. This gallery hosts site-specific installations by film composers, offering a new way to experience their practices, themes, and sounds.

This gallery is curated by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jenny He.