Dark Mofo: Tasmania

In 2017, Chris Levine and Peter Hampel of iY_Project were invited by curator Leigh Carmichael to headline Dark Mofo, the winter solstice festival held by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania.

This invitation marked a pivotal moment for iY_Project - providing an opportunity to demonstrate that their laser-based installations were not simply visual spectacles, but a new form of immersive art exploring the relationship between light, sound, frequency and perception. It was also the first time Levine and Hampel had brought iY_Project into an urban environment, moving beyond the rural landscapes where much of their previous work had been presented.

Created in collaboration with sound artist Marco Perry and Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja, the installation titled 136.1 Hz transformed Hobart's industrial docklands into an ambitious sound and light experience inspired by the ancient wisdom of Solfeggio frequencies.

Rejecting the traditional separation between performer and audience, 136.1 Hz surrounded visitors within a 360-degree environment. Three 25-metre laser towers, positioned 40 metres apart to form an equilateral triangle, created a geometric field of light across the site. Half a mile away, a second installation housed within a disused boat shed featured Levine's signature cross motif - representing the intersection of time and space - with lasers connecting each element of the work.

As Peter Hampel reflected: "Chris created this extraordinary experience with lots of different modes from dynamic to still and quiet. Someone described it as 'cosmic light sorcery', which of course Chris loved as a description of his work. When you lay on the ground between the towers, you looked up to see you were in a sort of pyramid formed by the beams crossing. It was a huge and beautiful sacred light sculpture, which was the talk of the town."