The cover of the December 2007 issue of The Walrus.
Name: "Lightness of Being" (Queen Portrait)
Photographer: Chris Levine is a Canadian living in London.
Description: Commissioned by the Island of Jersey to commemorate 800 years of allegiance to the crown, the portrait titled Equanimity has become an historic artwork. Shot during two sittings at Buckingham Palace, a body of material was recorded, much of which has not been seen.
The original work, an oversized transmission type hologram lit in blue LED, was shown at Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London and Scone palace in Scotland and is receiving worldwide coverage in the media.
Equanimity, Chris’ new work on show at this years Royal Academy Summer Exhibition is part of the Equanimity body of work that comprises, literally, thousands of images and 3D data sets of Her Majesty the Queen.
“We think Chris’s work exemplifies the 21st century and the links between Jersey and the Crown. It is a tribute to Chris that he has created such a fascinating piece of contemporary art.”
–Jon Carter, Jersey Heritage Trust
“If a single image in the Summer Exhibition stands for the show as a whole, it is Chris Levine’s Lightness of Being. Levine made a hologramic portrait of the Queen. One of the test shots for the work showed HM flinching at the flash, and Levine has reproduced this, possibly treasonously, as a giclee print. Never mind Annigoni or Freud: Lightness of Being is the greatest portrait yet of Elizabeth II.”
–Independent on Sunday
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