Sjón

Writing

1962-08-27 · Reykjavík, Iceland

Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962), known as Sjón (/ʃoʊn/ SHOHN; Icelandic:[sjouːn], meaning "sight" and being an abbreviation of his first name), is an Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricist, and screenwriter. Sjón frequently collaborates with the singer Björk and has performed with The Sugarcubes as Johnny Triumph. His works have been translated into 30 languages. Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Sjón grew up in the  Breiðholt district, where he lived with his mother. He began his writing career early and published his first book of poetry, Sýnir (Visions), in 1978 at 16. He was one of the founding members of the neo-surrealist group Medúsa and became significant in Reykjavik's cultural scene. Active on the Icelandic music scene since the early 1980s, Sjón has collaborated with many of the best-known artists of the era and was featured as guest vocalist on a rare Sugarcubes 12" single "Luftgitar" in 1987 using the name Johnny Triumph; this was accompanied by a music video of Sjón playing air guitar with Björk and Einar Örn Benediktsson. Sjón would occasionally reprise this role for the final encore of The Sugarcubes concerts, including the band's one-off 2006 reunion show in Reykjavík. Sjón and Björk first met when they were teenagers, and together, they formed a two-person band called Rocka Rocka Drum. Later, when Björk began her solo career in the 1990s, Sjón wrote lyrics for her. The pair teamed up to write the song "I've Seen it All" for the film Dancer in the Dark in 2000. As a result, Sjón and Björk shared nominations for "Best Original Song" at the 2001 Golden Globes and the 2001 Academy Awards. Two years later, Sjón was featured in the documentary Inside Björk. In 2004, Björk performed "Oceania" – a song that the two had written together – at the 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony in Athens, Greece. In 2007, he contributed the original story and wrote the screenplay for the animated film Anna and the Moods. He also joined the cast, voicing the character Dr. Artmann. Sjón co-wrote the feature Lamb together with Valdimar Jóhannsson. Lamb premiered in 2021 and was selected as Iceland's contribution to the 2022 Academy Awards. Lamb also received much international recognition through festivals around the world. It has been nominated for or received prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, Gothenburg Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Athens International Film Festival, as well as from the Edda Awards and the Austin Film Critics Association Awards. From August to December 2021, Sjón was writer-in-residence at the Literaturhaus Zurich and the PWG Foundation in Zurich. Sjón co-wrote the 2022 film The Northman, a historical epic and revenge thriller based on the legend of the Viking prince Amleth, with director Robert Eggers. Björk appears in the film in a supporting role as a seeress. Description above from the Wikipedia article Sjón, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.