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    main product photo

    Bodies of Light

    by Bill Viola Hon RA

    This limited edition print by Bill Viola Hon RA was made in celebration of the Academy's Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth exhibition in 2019.

    Available in an edition of 40, each print is numbered in pencil with the artist’s signature blind-embossed.

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    £1,100.00

    Artwork details

    Dimensions 56 x 44cm
    Fabric & material Etching
    Edition 40
    Medium Print

    Delivery & returns information

    Service Update (updated 19 March 2020)

    We want to make sure your order reaches you as safely as possible. Therefore, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, all purchases of unframed prints from the RA Editions store will be dispatched once the RA has reopened. Delivery charges are detailed here. Please note that purchses of unique works that are for collection only will only be available for collection once the RA has reopened. The RA Editions Team will be in touch regarding all orders upon the RA reopening. 

    During this period our Returns Policy will be extended. For any order queries, please Contact Us. 

    UK tracked delivery is charged at £20, unless the work is collection only

    International delivery is calculated by size and delivery destination, and can be viewed here

    Our small team are working as quickly and safely as possible to prepare and send online orders.

    Please expect delays to our service and thanks in advance for your patience. For more information on delivery times and terms, please click here.

    All artworks are available for Delivery. You can find our Art Delivery Charges here. We have temporarily stopped shipping to EEA countries. The RA is temporarily closed, collection is not available at this time.

    Updated 19 May 2020

    All artworks are available for Delivery. You can find our Art Delivery Charges here. The Royal Academy is temporarily closed, Collection is not available at this time.

    Our team will be in touch to confirm delivery details once your order is placed.

    For any questions talk to us. 

    Product story

    Throughout his 40-year career Viola has extensively researched and experienced Eastern religions, which he describes as being ‘all about the knower and the known being part of a larger unity’. These concepts have been fundamental within Viola’s practice. The text is a translation from the Quran; it is attributed here to Zia Inayat Khan who is a scholar and teacher of Sufism. Key to this creed – and central to Viola’s art – is the notion of personal and collective transformation.

    Produced in the historic RA Schools, the starting point for this etching was a drawing by Viola made in 2006. The circular form, which almost seems to vibrate on the page, is evocative of an eye or viewfinder. As a student at Syracuse University in the early 1970’s, Viola experimented with homemade versions of a camera obscura allowing him to explore this method of image projection which dates back to ancient China.

    Each print is numbered in pencil with the artist’s signature blind-embossed. 

    Produced in the RA Schools, the starting point for this etching was a drawing by Viola made in 2006. The circular form, which seemingly vibrates on the page, is evocative of an eye or viewfinder. As a student at Syracuse University in the early 1970’s, Viola experimented with homemade versions of a camera obscura allowing him to explore the method of image projection which dates back to ancient China.

    Throughout his 40-year career Viola has extensively researched and experienced Eastern religions, which he describes as being ‘all about the knower and the known being part of a larger unity’. These concepts have been fundamental within Viola’s practice. The text is a translation from the Quran; it is attributed here to Zia Inayat Khan who is a scholar and teacher of Sufism. Key to this creed and central to Viola’s art is the notion of personal and collective transformation.


    The RA Editions programme generates valuable revenue for the RA and in particular the RA Schools.​​

    About Bill Viola Hon RA

    For over 40 years, Bill Viola has been making work that explores a series of humanistic and spiritual issues. His video installations – total environments that envelop the viewer in image and sound – employ state-of-the-art technologies and are distinguished by their precision and direct simplicity. Viola uses video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as an avenue to... Go to artist page