a laser above the lagoon
Over the lagoon that surrounds Venice, a green ring now hangs in the night sky as British artist Chris Levine unveils Higher Power, a week-long laser installation during its operating days 2026 Venice Art Biennale. Projected from San Clemente Island, it is visible throughout the city until midnight every night from May 4 to 11, the public artwork turns the Venetian skyline into an active canvas for light and collective attention.
The project uses a modified military-grade laser system developed with engineers and physicists in Germany. At certain times, the beam appears as a single vertical line extending through the atmosphere. In others, the light is resolved into a sharply defined halo that hovers over the water.
The effect is largely dependent on weather conditions and suspended particles, which catch and scatter the beam in visible form. From the canals and bridges across Venice, the circle is read with stunning precision, hovering high above the island like an architectural design straight into the sky.
Higher Power, Chris Levine. image © Francesco Semenzato
Chris Levine harnesses light as medium in Venice
Artist Chris Levine has spent years working with light as both an image and a physical experience, often pushing technology related to science or industry into more perceptual territory. Here, the material itself becomes part of the story. During development, test projections were visible from the International Space Station, giving the facility an unusual spatial scale even before its public debut.
The beam operates at 515 nanometers, producing an intensely pure green frequency. According to the artist, the system also oscillates at 432 Hz, a resonance associated with meditative and healing practices. These details could easily be drawn into pseudoscientific language, yet the installation is most powerful when encountered directly from the city itself.
‘Meditation has always been a key aspect of my work. At a time when so much attention is turned downward, this work is about collectively looking up, and going deep within ourselves,‘ Chris comments. ‘If a work can induce a brief meditative state in my audience, it creates peace in this world of increasing uncertainty.‘
Higher Power, Chris Levine. image © Selim Uyar
project information:
name: Higher power
artist: Chris Levine | @chrislevine
location: Venice, Italy
dates: 4 – 11 May 2026
photo: © Francesco Semenzato © Selim Uyar
