The Light in Winter 2015

Melbourne’s winter tradition, ‘The Light in Winter‘ will warm the city’s heart this June in its ninth instalment by Artistic Director and arts luminary, Robyn Archer AO.

The cross-cultural celebration opens with the world premiere of renowned UK artist, Chris Levine’s laser installation, ‘Molecule of Light’ which will radiate amidst a three-week program of art, music and performance, culminating in the much-loved Solstice Celebration.

Coinciding with the International Year of Light, this year’s ‘The Light in Winter’ program brings together local and international artists to celebrate the newest and oldest sources of light in a series of free events, exhibitions, performances and forums.

Commissioned and produced by Fed Square, Chris Levine’s Molecule of Light promises to be a transformative visual sensation. Eight-metres above ground, the lasers will converge upon a central acrylic sphere from three different angles. The resultant light forms will burst into a series of shapes and colours that will shine out into The Square.

Chris Levine is a pioneer in the field of light art and his talents have reached across multiple platforms including music, performance, installation, fashion and design. As well as having worked with Massive Attack on their monumental Glastonbury performance in 2008, he has collaborated with Philip Treacy, Grace Jones and Kate Moss, has exhibited at MoMA NYC and Saatchi Gallery London amongst others, and his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was hailed by the National Portrait Gallery as the most evocative image of a royal by any artist.

Whilst Levine works with a modern, concentrated light form, Leempeeyt Weeyn celebrates the oldest source of light. Vicki Couzens created the campfire, Leempeeyt Weeyn for the inaugural ‘The Light in Winter’ program nine years ago and it has been burned brightly each year since. The campfire will burn 24 hours a day as it hosts a week of fireside performances and activations from DJ Nurra (James Henry), Rob Bundle, Uncle Larry Walsh, Muma Doesa and more.

The 2015 program continues its rich cultural pathways with the third and final year of ‘Square of Light’, the screen-based works by James Arneman showcasing the wonderfully diverse communities involved in ‘The Light in Winter’. The mesmerising, iridescent 3D installation, ‘Luminous Intervention’ by Melbourne’s Skunk Control will inhabit the Fracture Gallery in a stunning exploration of how plants use light. Whilst enlightenment can be found on a whimsical journey inside a giant knitted egg in ‘Lala Lullaby’ and is just a step away through a giant set of headphones in ‘PERSONWATCH’, a self guided audio tour that explores the pastime of people watching.

The program wraps with the much-loved ‘Solstice Celebration’, a night of music, performance and food that gathers many of Melbourne’s culturally diverse communities together to celebrate the Winter Solstice and the slow journey towards spring.

Federation Square
1 to 21 June, nightly from 5.30pm
Melbourne

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