Jenny Hval present Iris Silver Mist (Live)
she/her
Fri May 30 | Muziekgebouw
In the wildness of the pandemic, music was stripped of its social and physical experience. Was there another way to feel physical intimacy? Where music had become a void, Jenny Hval filled it with scent.
Join us for the Dutch premiere of Jenny Hval’s Iris Silver Mist, presented in collaboration with The Rest is Noise. Inspired by scent rather than sound, the Norwegian artist’s new live performance explores intimacy, absence, and transformation through smelling and writing. Named after a perfume, Iris Silver Mist evokes cold steel, soft shimmer, and misty mornings—a fragrance Jenny describes as “being close to ghosts.”
At Muziekgebouw, this performance will delve into what touches, changes, and lingers on or beneath our skin. It will offer us a journey into the ethereal, reflecting on sensual and primal ways of sensing physical intimacy.
About the artist
Norwegian artist and writer Jenny Hval has developed her distinct take on intimate sound since the release of her debut eponymous album in 2006. Over the years, she has released eight solo albums—two under the alias Rockettothesky and six under her own name—earning thoughtful and widespread international acclaim.
Known for her captivating voice, distinctive delivery, and unconventional arrangements, Hval seamlessly blends poetry, prose, performance art, and film into her work. The New York Times describes her writing as “taking a scalpel to the subjects of gender politics and sexuality”. Through her art, Hval has skillfully illuminated issues surrounding the male and female gaze, which for years had been swept under the rug and/or denied altogether.
