Higher Power : Venice Biennale

Launching at the pre-opening of the Venice Biennale 2026, Chris Levine unveiled the latest iteration of Higher Power on San Clemente Island.

For seven consecutive nights, audiences across Venice look skyward as Higher Power projected its vertical beam, piercing the atmosphere above the historic Venetian island, transforming the night sky into a shared field of light and perception. 

At the heart of Higher Power is a modified military-grade laser system – the most powerful display laser in the world – developed in collaboration with optical engineers and physicists in Germany. Pushing the limits of atmospheric scale, during development test projections were detected from the International Space Station, approximately 250 miles above Earth.

In Higher Power, a technology more commonly associated with war was redirected towards peace. Emitting a pure beam of green light oscillating at 432Hz – one of the sacred Solfeggio frequencies associated with harmony and healing. The installation transmitted one succinct message: Make Light, Not War. A beacon of hope and unity, this message continues to propagate through space to this day, expanding at the speed of light as you read this.

Over the course of the Venice Biennale’s opening week, Higher Power emerged as one of the most talked-about projects in the city. Featured in over 300 pieces of coverage across international press, cultural publications, and social media, the work extended the conversation far beyond Venice itself, reaffirming Levine’s enduring belief that light can transcend division, foster connection, and illuminate the possibility of a more hopeful future.

As the artist reflects:

“In these darkened days that we’re going through right now, my humble contribution to the big picture is by making light.”