"The Home of the Opuntian Locrians" is a 16-piece installation by Björk Haraldsdóttir. It is a Walking City – an imagined home to ancient, and perhaps, imagined people. The city-like cluster of black and white ceramic forms was conceived as part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2023, curated by Peter Barber. The forms give the impression of ‘towers’ or tall buildings and you can almost imagine people walking around at the foot of the buildings. The installation was featured in the Architecture Room at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, which Barber curated. The room also included other ceramic pieces and models, as well as works by other artists like Phyllida Barlow and Assemble. The theme of Barber's curated room was ‘Making is Thinking’, which explored the thinking process behind Architecture, the making that goes into the thinking. Art by Architects. Architecture by Artists.

A substantial sculptural installation for Björk, and her largest yet, this 'magnum opus' was given the rather playful title, "The Home of the Opuntian Locrians," with reference to the group of people who inhabited Opus, a principal city of ancient Greece located along the eastern coast of central Greece.

Originally from Iceland, Björk's work is instantly recognisable and is heavily influenced by her past. The artist studied architecture at The Glasgow School of Art (where she collected the Glasgow Silver Medal for Architecture) and worked in the industry for over 20 years for several renowned architects including Richard Rogers and the aforementioned Peter Barber before exploring her passion for ceramic forms. She works with the clay according to her architectural training, pieces are planned and drawn before they are made and made as they are conceived – glass and steel have long since been replaced by clay.