Bjørn Staal

Bjørn Staal is an artist and software developer based in Oslo, Norway.

His work explores the dynamic interactions between computational systems, human perception & behavior. With more than a decade of experience in multidisciplinary design and software development, Staal co-founded the experimental art and design studio Void in 2015. Focused mainly on the development of large-scale interactive installations, Void has gained international recognition for its work at the intersection of design, architecture, technology, and art.

Since leaving the studio in 2023, Bjørn has focused on his own artistic practice, exploring how algorithms can enrich our understanding of what it means to be human in an age where more and more of our agency is being outsourced. Staal’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as part of online and physical exhibitions as well as installations in public spaces. In September 2024, Staal had his first solo exhibition at Wintercircus in Ghent, Belgium.

Into the Night

2017

film, projection mapping

Oslo

The music video for Torgny's "Into the Night" represents a collaboration between the electro-pop producer, computational design studio Void, and photographer Pernille Sandberg that transforms Oslo's urban landscape into a canvas for lyrical expression.

The music video for Torgny's "Into the Night" represents a collaboration between the electro-pop producer, computational design studio Void, and photographer Pernille Sandberg that transforms Oslo's urban landscape into a canvas for lyrical expression while juxtaposing intimate footage of the artist's uncovered body against the city's concrete facades.

What began as an aesthetic exploration of the lyric video format through simple projection techniques evolved into a series of guerrilla light installations across the city's most iconic and half-forgotten architectural sites. The project creates an intimate dialogue between personal expression and public space, using the city's facades as both screen and collaborator in a visual narrative that explores the relationship between human vulnerability and urban architecture.

The project conceptualizes the projected lyrics as one level of communication layered upon another—the existing language of concrete structures serving as substrate for the human voice expressed through text. The visual narrative explores the relationship between human vulnerability and urban coldness through intimate footage of the artist's uncovered body juxtaposed against Oslo's concrete landscape.

Having grown up in Oslo, Torgny maintains intimate knowledge of these locations, with the final projection site holding particular personal significance as the location where he was photographed for Thrasher magazine in the 1990s. The projection of personal lyrics onto these familiar architectural surfaces creates a bridge between private memory and collective urban experience, making visible the enduring human presence within the constructed environment.