Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon was born in Reykjavik into an artistic family: his father was an Icelandic theater director and screenwriter, and his mother, a Siberian actress and visual artist. In 2002, he established Ergis Film Production, a company focused on artistic documentaries, through which he has collaborated with notable figures such as Björk, Erró, Alain Robbe-Grillet, David Lynch, and Yoko Ono.

Magnússon has worked alongside Icelandic filmmaker Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson, and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, curator and director of international projects at London’s Serpentine Gallery.