528 Hz Love Frequency: Houghton Hall

Houghton Hall in Norfolk was transformed by Chris Levine’s major solo exhibition, 528 Hz Love Frequency.

Marking the inaugural winter exhibition across the historic grounds, the show ran from 22 October to 23 December 2021.

Proudly sponsored by Sotheby’s, it featured a series of new holographic works, prints, and large-scale immersive laser and LED installations. 528 Hz Love Frequency is a body of work created specifically for the unique setting of the house and grounds, with each piece reflecting Levine’s ongoing exploration of the meditative and immersive properties of light and sound.

Molecule of Light was unveiled as the central focal point of the exhibition. Standing at 25 metres tall, with a 6.5-tonne sphere at its core and a meteorite positioned at its centre, the work is composed of steel tube circles and coated with nine layers of UV-reactive paint.

During the day, the sphere harnesses natural light to create shifting patterns that give the sculpture a vibrational quality. At night, it becomes the centre of an immersive display of laser light, transforming its surroundings. External laser scanners synchronise with the Earth’s rotation, beaming across the sculpture and surrounding landscape, while the sphere emits a constant tone pitched at 528 Hz -  a frequency said to influence the body’s bioelectric state.

Reflecting on this defining moment in his career, Levine says:

“When James Turrell exhibited at Houghton in 2015, I was invited to his opening dinner. Afterwards, I walked out onto the lawn to get some fresh air. I remember thinking that one day I too would exhibit at Houghton. Then James came out and we had a lovely conversation, just the two of us. He has been such an inspiration to me.

When I came to choose the exact spot for Molecule of Light - taking geometry, topography and landscape into account - it landed on the very place where we had that conversation six years earlier.”