Two legendary voices create an encounter beyond time and images.
BILBAO
British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen has transformed a gallery at Spain’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao into an immersive sound installation where the voices of Nina Simone and David Bowie meet across time. The exhibition, titled 66–76–26, removes conventional visual imagery and invites visitors to experience music, memory and human connection through sound alone.
Opened on October 9, the installation features two recordings of Wild Is the Wind, performed by Simone in 1966 and Bowie in 1976. Their voices emerge from opposite ends of a darkened room, creating an imagined musical encounter that never occurred during their lifetimes.
The original song was written by composer Dimitri Tiomkin and lyricist Ned Washington for the 1957 film of the same name. Simone subsequently transformed it into an emotionally intense performance, while Bowie recorded his interpretation a decade later.
McQueen strips away the instrumental accompaniment, allowing the voices to occupy the gallery independently. As visitors move through the space, the balance between the recordings changes, creating a listening experience shaped by physical position.
The title 66–76–26 connects the years of the two performances with 2026, when the installation was created. It also reflects McQueen’s longstanding interest in memory, perception and the emotional possibilities of artistic expression.
The filmmaker, internationally recognized for directing the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave, has maintained an influential career in contemporary art alongside his work in cinema.
For this project, he returns to a song that has fascinated him for more than three decades. McQueen has described its emotional intensity as an expression of longing, suggesting that love and the desire for connection remain relevant during periods of political and social uncertainty.
The relationship between Simone and Bowie also informs the installation. McQueen recalled that the musicians met after Simone accompanied her daughter to a Bowie concert in 1975, an encounter that preceded his recording of the song.
Exhibition curator Lekha Hileman emphasizes that visitors do not need detailed knowledge of either performer to engage with the work. The absence of imagery encourages concentration on the voices, their emotional differences and the surrounding silence.
Rather than reconstructing a historical duet, McQueen creates an experience that invites audiences to consider how artistic interpretations can communicate across generations.
The installation also challenges expectations associated with major museums. In a cultural environment dominated by visual stimulation, its defining feature is the deliberate absence of images.
The experience depends on listening, movement and the willingness to remain present without the guidance of a conventional narrative.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is presenting the installation through February 21, 2027, alongside a film program exploring McQueen’s contributions to cinema.
For visitors, 66–76–26 offers an encounter between two distinctive musical identities. Its broader significance lies in demonstrating how a familiar composition can acquire new meaning when separated from its original context.
Through darkness and two extraordinary voices, McQueen turns an unrealized musical meeting into a contemporary reflection on memory and human connection.
Where Art Meets Human Experience.