Viva Brighton Issue #43 September 2016

ON THIS MONTH
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Chris Levine
1066, lasers, and all that
Image courtesy of Wonderfruit
Laser artist Chris Levine works all over the world.
He’s collaborated with Grace Jones and Kate Moss,
created a holographic portrait of the Queen and a
birthday portrait of the Dalai Lama. Most recently,
he designed a spectacular laser show as part of a
tribute to David Bowie at the Glastonbury Festival.
We tracked down globetrotting Chris to ask him
about this, as well as the ‘immersive sight and
sound installation’ Iy Project: The Nature of Sound
and Light, which he is creating in collaboration
with Edenlab (part of the Eden Project). This will
take place on Hastings’ new pier to kick off the
Hastings Root 1066 Festival, celebrating the 950th
anniversary of the Norman Conquest.
Tell us about your part in the David Bowie
tribute, Philip Glass’s “Heroes” Symphony, at
Glastonbury. Bowie had a huge influence on me
at art school, and I had hoped to do his portrait
this year. I did a holographic design for him years
ago. He was a special being. Philip Glass was the
soundtrack to a period of my life, so it was a huge
honour to be asked to do this project. The response
was pretty phenomenal, and during some of
the silent moments there was a palpable reverence
for the starman.
Have you visited Hastings’ new pier?
Yes I have, and it was a thrill. The pier puts you
face-to-face with the raw power of the sea. When
you consider how little of the ocean has actually
been explored, it holds great mysteries.
Talk us through your planned Hastings installation.
The brief has been fairly open but in that,
trust is a huge challenge. The work we are doing
with the iy project is the antithesis of conflict,
and a celebration of the natural wonder of life on
earth. Meditation is the key, and I’ve found that
by immersing your senses in sound and light, laser
light in particular, one can attain brief moments
between thoughts, and it’s during these moments
that something recalibrates and harmonises us.
What are the pleasures and challenges of the
location? To be exposed to such natural forces of
the wind and sea will add to the natural dimension
of the work. The sound is a crucial aspect of the
work we’re doing, and depending on the weather,
the noise of the wind may well overpower some
of the more subtle layers of the soundscape. I say
soundscape and not music because it is primarily
the energy of sound at certain frequencies that
informs the work.
You’ve done some amazing collaborations.
Does who you work with make a difference to
how you feel about your work? I do get affirmation
that I’m not a cadet lost in space, but [you
know you’re] getting into something very interesting
when real talent is drawn to the work.
Emma Chaplin
Sat 10th, Hastings Pier and Promenade. Doors, 7pm,
show, 8pm. Free but booking required for pier viewing,
musicglue.com/root-1066
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