973 Third Avenue: The Queen Portraits (2004)

This short video, taken from a documentary, offers a fun look at the Queen during a photo shoot at the Palace in 2004.

In 2004 Chris Levine was commissioned by the Island of Jersey to create a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The portrait was to commemorate 800 years of allegiance to the crown by the Island. A body of work was shot at Buckingham Palace over two sittings and the title works Equanimity and Lightness of Being have been widely acclaimed worldwide.

EQUANIMITY, the first holographic portrait of Her Majesty The Queen, was displayed at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, in 2004.

Jersey Heritage Trust commissioned light artist Chris Levine to create a portrait of Her Majesty to celebrate 800 years of loyalty to the English Crown. Having originally seen his work in a British Council Touring exhibition, the Jersey Museum decided that Chris’s work was so original that they commissioned him for this historic celebration. Jonathan Carter, Director of Jersey Heritage Trust, said: “We think Chris’s work exemplifies the 21st century and the links between Jersey and the Crown. It is a tribute to Chris that he has created such a fascinating piece of contemporary art.”

To create the over-life-size three-dimensional portrait, Chris Levine took over 10,000 images and 3D data-sets of Her Majesty during two sittings at Buckingham Palace. The final hologram is mounted in glass and illuminated by a strip of blue LEDs. The work shows The Queen wearing the Diamond Diadem, created for George IV and worn by Her Majesty for the procession to her Coronation in 1953.

EQUANIMITY was displayed at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, from 17 July until 3 October 2004 with the exhibition George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste (until 9 January 2005).

The Jersey Museum, St Helier, Jersey exhibited EQUANIMITY from 23 June until 2006, when the work went on permanent display at the historic Mont Orgueil.