EDINBURGH.- Leading light artist, Chris Levine, launched a new immersive light installation, Stillness at 136.1 Hz, at the revamped Pommery Bar in the Signet Library, from 1 to 27 August 2018.

The art collaboration has been exclusively created in association with Saatchi Gallery, the Society of Writers to HM Signet (WS Society), and Champagne Pommery.

Chris Levine’s artwork reflects the iconic Edinburgh building’s architecture and design, and develop an entrancing meditative experience through laser lights and sound. Located at the heart of the Edinburgh Festivals programme on the Royal Mile, which spans art, theatre and literature, Levine’s piece makes for an arresting moment of stillness and peace in an otherwise frenetic city.

Saatchi Gallery, the WS Society and Champagne Pommery, have partnered on this project, devised as part of the re-launch of the Edinburgh Pommery Bar operated by the award-winning caterer Heritage Portfolio. Levine’s installation also builds upon the success of the Josef Koudelka, The Making of Landscape photography exhibition which attracted 13,000 visitors to the Signet Library in August 2017.

Chris Levine said: “The overriding objective in my work is to draw people to a place of stillness, a meditative space where the heart and mind become balanced. By using laser, light of a single frequency, combined with solfeggio sound, there is a purity to the sensory input which resonates with the energy systems of the body. The audience connects and literally becomes one with the work – it becomes a meditative experience.”

Robert Pirrie, CEO of the WS Society, said: “Opening up the Signet Library to new audiences is very important to us. Numerous 19th century illustrations depict men, women and children enjoying the building – and particularly its Upper Library – as an inspiring place for meeting, conversation and discussion. Inviting the Edinburgh Festivals’ crowds to experience Chris Levine’s powerful installation in that very room, aims to re-connect with this original usage.”

Sara Hicks, Director of Vranken-Pommery Monopole UK, said: “Champagne Pommery is delighted to see the return of the Pommery Bar to the Edinburgh Festivals. Art has always been an integral part of Pommery’s DNA, since Gustave Navlet carved his spectacular bas-reliefs in the champagne house’s chalk cellars in Reims in the 1880s – a World Heritage Site since 2015. This installation by Chris Levine at the Signet Library brings another unique celebration of art and champagne, and we are excited to be supporting such an innovative project with Saatchi Gallery and the WS Society.”

Philippa Adams, Senior Director of Saatchi Gallery, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with the WS Society and Champagne Pommery on this exciting project. Chris Levine is a pioneer in the field of light art, creating and adapting technology in the pursuit of expansive visual sensations, and we’re delighted to be able to help facilitate this new installation and bring his work to a new audience as part of the relaunched Pommery Bar.”

Chris Levine is a light artist who works across many mediums in pursuit of an expanded state of perception and awareness through image and form. Levine is perhaps best known for producing what is already being described as one of the most iconic images of the 21st century, Lightness of Being. The National Portrait Gallery stated that this portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was the most evocative image of a royal by any artist.

Levine’s status as one of the world’s leading light artists has led to numerous light performances and exhibitions internationally, as well as high-profile cross media collaborations with Massive Attack, Hussein Chalayan, Antony and the Johnsons, Kate Moss, Grace Jones and Jon Hopkins to name a few. In 2016, he completed another historic portrait to commemorate the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday to raise funds for the victims of Nepal’s recent earthquake.

Levine will also be showcasing a new series of laser installations and print-based works for the first time in October during Frieze art week in an exhibit adjacent to the park.