Leica binoculars as a work of art: Leica Camera AG presents the ‘LIFE edition’ – a special limited edition of the Leica Trinovid 8 x 40.

With the ‘LIFE edition’ of the Leica Trinovid 8 x 40, Leica Camera AG presents a unique, special edition from the Leica Trinovid range of binoculars. The special edition model has been created in collaboration with the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, who lent the binoculars their unusual look. With its neon green leather trim and colour-matched engraving, the Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 ‘LIFE edition’ is a striking eye-catcher and a work of art in one. In a worldwide edition of only 250 examples, the uniqueness of this model makes it a highly desirable object for lovers of rarities and exclusive collector’s items.

The strictly limited Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 ‘LIFE edition’ was created as an homage to Olafur Eliasson’s installation ‘Life’, which was shown at the Fondation Beyeler (Switzerland) in 2021. ‘Life’ presented a model of ‘naturalcultural’ landscape that explored how nature and culture are inseparable; how humans are entangled with the elements, structures and systems in our environment. For the installation, Eliasson removed the glass façade of the Fondation Beyeler that separated the inside from the outside world in order to invite human and non-human visitors into the space, including the natural elements – plants, microorganisms, wildlife and climate. Bright green water, coloured by a nontoxic dye, filled the space to give the impression that nature had taken over, but also to simultaneously present a profoundly sculpted experience.

Overcoming borders and broadening horizons – this is also symbolised by the uniquely special Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 ‘LIFE edition’. As a painstakingly crafted tool, the binoculars establish a connection between the observer and the observed and inspire a change in our perception of how we encounter the world around us.

‘Life has begun. It is a liveable environment for humans and non-humans alike. Life is never the same! It comes to Life through the co-existence of everything and everyone that meet up in it. Life is cyclical and welcomes all living beings day and night. Life is not about human exceptionalism - we humans, might in fact be “upright mammalian weeds”, mostly up to no good. Let us vegetalize our senses and conspire with Earth’ said Olafur Eliasson.

In addition to the neon green leather trim, a further eye-catching feature of the binoculars of the special edition is their engravings filled out in green. Each example also features the special engraving ‘LIFE’ and a unique serial number indicating that it is one example from a limited edition (1/250). The Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 ‘LIFE edition’ will be supplied in green packaging in binocular-style and emblazoned with the logotype ‘Life’. The scope of delivery includes a certificate of authenticity and a folding card with a personally signed quote from Olafur Eliasson.

In every other respect, the technical specifications of the Leica Trinovid 8 x 40 ‘LIFE edition’ are identical to those of the serial production model. Presented in 2019 as an homage to the iconic binoculars of the 1960s, the relaunched Leica Trinovid in classic design is a timeless accessory – stylish, slim and elegant – and the perfect companion for observation in countless situations. Their precise, high-performance premium optics with an exceptional field of view assure users an impressive overview and, thanks to their intuitive handling concept, hour after hour of fatigue-free observation. The latest glass types and coating guarantee brilliant, true-to-life colours and an extremely bright, high-contrast viewing image from edge to edge. Protected by an ultra-light aluminium body and state-of-the-art materials, Leica Trinovid binoculars are robust, waterproofed against spray and rain and ready to face every challenge in even the harshest conditions.

ABOUT OLAFUR ELIASSON

Since 1997, his wide-ranging solo shows have appeared in major museums around the globe. He represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and later that year installed The weather project, an enormous artificial sun shrouded by mist, in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London, which was seen by more than two million people. In 2014, Contact was the opening exhibition of Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris. Verklighetsmaskiner (Reality machines), at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm in 2015, became the museum’s most visited show by a living artist. In 2016, Eliasson created a series of interventions for the palace and gardens of Versailles and mounted two large-scale exhibitions: Nothingness is not nothing at all, at Long Museum, Shanghai, and The parliament of possibilities, at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul. Eliasson’s site-specific installation Reality projector opened at the Marciano Foundation, Los Angeles, in March 2018, the same month as The unspeakable openness of things, his solo exhibition at Red Brick Art Museum, Beijing. In 2019, In real life, a wide-ranging survey exhibition of Eliasson’s artistic practice over the past twenty-five years, opened at Tate Modern, in London, before travelling to Guggenheim Bilbao in 2020. Olafur Eliasson: Symbiotic seeing opened at Kunsthaus Zürich in January 2020, and Sometimes the river is the bridge was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo from April to September 2020. These were followed in 2021 by the exhibition Life at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel.

Please find further information at:

Leica Camera Asia Pacific
Nicole Choong
Assistant Marketing Manager
E-Mail: nicole.choong@leica-camera.com
Internet: https://leica-store.sg