Winter Lights

Greeting you at the beginning of the trail, On the Wave of Light is an interactive installation comprised of 100 LED light sticks spaced one metre apart. As you walk by, a subtle interaction occurs between viewer and installation whereby the light shines brighter in the presence of movement and then slowly fades out, creating a beautiful, waved effect, and leaving the imprint of the viewer behind.

This newly commissioned installation is inspired by the intricate network of neural connections in the human brain. The vast three-dimensional structure composed of thousands of luminous filaments that interweave and intricately connect, aims to make the incredibly complex concept of the human brain into a tangible, and beautiful art object. Each filament represents a neuron, and their interconnection symbolizes neuronal synapses, where the transmission of electrical and chemical signals take place.

Sign sets Westferry Circus ablaze, with lengths of bamboo rising high against the dark night sky, creating the illusion of a mass of flickering flames. The frightening and fascinating sight of fire is full of contradictions – fire is at once beautiful and terrifying, it razes forests whilst simultaneously making the soil fertile, it is transformative yet destructive. Here, artists Vendel & De Wolf play with this contradiction, encouraging people to embrace the beauty and new beginnings afforded by fire.

As a celebration of the winged denizens of the city, LES OISEAUX is paying tribute to the wildlife and species which cohabit the metropolis that is London. In contrast to a world saturated with speed, colour and noise, French artist Simon Chevalier presents a simple, static, black and white artwork. Taking the ephemeral, fleeting moment of a bird in flight and decompartmentalising this action into four sculptures, four frames of a bird taking off, Chevalier encourages us to pause, to look up and around at our surroundings, and to appreciate who we share our spaces with.

This giant marble run gives an enchanting interplay of geometry, movement, light and sound. The large spherical shape of the installation is reflected in the spherical marble at its centre, as well as the circular rotating motion of the piece, resulting in a mediative almost hypnotising experience. The marble run has two parts in its cycle, the vertical movement through the centre and the outer spiralling movement around the surface. The two components are parts of one cycle and express the connection between inner growth and outer expression.

Vessels is a sculpture where science, technology and culture collide. A modern take on monuments that brought people together in ancient civilisations to contemplate and celebrate the sun. Three monolithic pyramid structures are filled with smoke. A laser, mounted at the apex, shines vivid and defined rays that create three-dimensional forms that shift in synchronisation with music. From the stone circles of England to the Pyramids of Egypt, monolithic structures were built across the globe as a centre point for rituals to take place. Where light would interact with the structure resulting in transcendent experiences for collective audiences.

The inherent, primal aspect of our being is wired both psychologically and biologically to perceive light as a perpetual, dynamic source in sync with our nervous system and circadian rhythm, primarily sourced from natural light such as that from the sun, the moon, or fire.
However, over the past century and a half, we have introduced a static, artificial illumination that disrupts our fundamental instincts and detaches us from our natural surroundings.

Biophilia has been meticulously crafted to connect with our inherent bond to the natural world. This three-dimensional creation harnesses the power of the visible light spectrum in tandem with human behaviour, light, motion, and a captivating interplay of colours, creating an entrancing, ever-evolving spectacle of light.

In-Between introduces viewers to a realm that exists between the organic and the artificial, presenting a captivating art installation that blurs the boundaries between nature and technology. Three seemingly simple cubes, positioned on black pedestals, conceal hidden mirrors beneath their surfaces, revealing a complex and electrifying internal structure with a continuous pulse that alternates between the three pieces.

Following its huge success at Winter Lights 2019, Submergence is returning to Montgomery Square! This large, immersive, walkthrough experience is comprised of many thousands of individual points of suspended light to create feelings of presence and movement. The installation transforms space into a hybrid environment where virtual and physical worlds coincide. As you enter the piece, you are walking into a space occupied by both real and virtual components, and you can affect both.

Inspired by optical illusionary art of the 1960s, Kinetic Perspective, comprised of a row of 32 illuminated spinning circles, plays with our perception as circles continually disappear and reappear. In this way, the artist creates an abstract, immersive geometric shape, playing with perspective by creating a vanishing point at the eye-level of visitors. Invited to actively participate and observe, the audience must move around to uncover the patterns and distortions, in which a hidden geometry will be revealed.

Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe and in their very nature are minuscule, almost massless particles that are extremely hard to detect but are believed to make up the fabric of the universe. Particle physicists use mammoth neutrino detectors to hunt and trace these so called ‘ghost particles’.

Inspired by these enormous neutrino detectors, Geist is an exploration of the complex game of ‘hide and seek’ that scientists play to find and provide evidence for the existence of these particles. Only on the extremely rare occasion that a neutrino interacts by hitting a mass do these particles become electronically charged and therefore detectable.

In Idle Time, animated figures in the form of line drawings, can be seen ‘at rest’. Relaxing. Taking a moment. Scratching an itch. Pondering. Stretching. Doing nothing productive at all.
Many anthropological studies have shown that in non-industrial societies, people spend long periods of time in a state of ‘idleness’. This piece is a reminder that being idle is a natural, human state of affairs, and important to our wellbeing. Utilising the construction tarp of a new building as the canvas, Idle Time is here to remind Canary Wharf inhabitants, workers, and visitors of the need for rest and relaxation.

An ever-changing cascade of words created by thousands of perfectly timed falling water droplets. The words are derived from a number of live news sources including The Times, The Guardian and the BBC News. The speed at which information is sourced, exchanged and updated is almost inconceivable, and more fleeting than ever before. The work effectively translates this abstract phenomenon into a visual experience. The isolation of the words from their context is also indicative of how easily meaning can be distorted.

The Clew is made from 100 circles of red light to create a beautiful structure around the Cubitt Steps Bridge. The minimal and elegant structure will create stunning reflections on the water and frame the bridge, making visitors appreciate this every-day object in a new way.

Originally commissioned for Summer Lights 2021, Shine Your Colours, is a multifaceted artwork that allows visitors to see themselves and the world through different colours. For the first time, these 6 transparent coloured glass panels will be illuminated, lending this artwork a new, exciting dimension.

Originally designed as part of the London Mural Festival, Walala’s Captivated by Colour has now become a permanent feature of our public art collection. Playing with the long perspective of the tunnel, the colourful design shows an optical pattern that shrinks and elongates as it moves across the bridge, creating a distorted effect as visitors pass through. By walking up and down the bridge visitors will also notice two different moods are created by Camille’s colour work. See this iconic piece as never before as it is transformed for our Winter Lights festival. Rhythmic coloured lights mimic and enhance the optical patterns, bringing this spectacular mural to life.

A permanent installation of more than 500 illuminated acrylic rods installed in a water channel. Viewed from above, the programmed illumination regularly changes colour and frequency throughout the day and evening, mimicking the changing environment and seamlessly fusing art and life.

Elantica, ‘The Boulder’ uses discarded circuit-boards to fuse nature and artifice. By mimicking a natural rock formation with electronic materials, the boulder seeks to demonstrate our world’s tendency to create a digital version of reality. The repurposing of e-waste as the art medium for this geometric form indicates a desired pursuit of harmony between nature and technology.