This was my fourth year visiting Winter Lights at Canary Wharf. Winter Lights at Canary Wharf has become an annual festival for the past five years now, taking place for nearly two weeks from mid-January. I visited it on Wednesday this week, its second day. This year was not as cold as previous years, but I got soaked in the first hour, but fortunately the rain stopped. Overall, I found this year's installations to be a real treat with so many wonderful and diverse types of installation, and they were easier to locate and attracked crowds.
This year, the installations were much easier to locate. Park of this is due to me having worked out the map of Canary Wharf's "maze" in my head, but the real bonus was there wasn't a reliance on using the shopping mall for installations, as the shopping mall is a maze and some of the installations took a lot of searching for, and the volunteers couldn't even help me in the past. Last year, many of the installations were in the mall with small rooms set up, and they had queues with long waiting times. I am glad that they've done away with these this year and have showcased some great new installations, and these new installations are picturesque and have encouraged people to visit. They have generated large numbers during a Wednesday after work on the second night, and I know that the event does keep getting more popular.
This year is the first year where the festival has put on "Winter Lights Bites", a small selection of food trucks outside of Cabot Square. I did not eat lunch, so my first stop was to Cabot Square to enjoy a small pizza from The Rolling Dough, which was just as tasty as it looks in the photograph above. I'm picky about my pizza, and this hit the spot. After walking to a few of the nearby installations, I returned to enjoy a strawberry and chocolate waffle from Waffle On and hot chocolate with toasted marshmallow at the same place but branded 'Fatties'. Both were really nice, and the hot chocolate was sweet and went well with the toasted marshmallow. I enjoyed these while I waited for the rain to stop.
So, in short, the event attracts more people and has its own small selection of food trucks with delicious food and hot chocolate when visitors are in the need of something warm. I know that in previous years, I got very cold so the hot chocolate would have hit the spot then. Now, for the light installations and artwork...
HEOFON LIGHT MAZE BY BEN BUSCHE OF BRUT DELUXE
This wonderful interactive art installation encourages visitors to wander inside to become lost in the maze. This light maze, located in Cabot Square, uses geometric imagery and all of the colours of the rainbow, which slowly cycle through. The maze is covered by mirroring images, and other visitors on the other sides of the panel create silhouette shapes, which reflects the colour and creates additional patterns. This is a fun piece and encourages visitors to take photographs whilst exploring it.
CABOT SQUARE FOUNTAIN
Not an official installation for the show however transformed is the Cabot Square Fountain. The water is illuminated with changing colours and patterns and sequenced to music. The Winter Lights Bites are at one end of the fountain, so the music can be enjoyed, and different movie themes are played to the dancing fountain.
BLUE NEURON BY ZAC GREENING
This art installation is placed between the trees in Columbus Courtyard, weaving amongst the branches with pulsating lights that move from one part of the installation to the next. The artwork was built from plastic bottles, and it looks like a creature or a biological part of the body where signals are sent, as demonstrated by the moving light. I managed to catch a part of the sculpture that lit up at once, but this changes quickly as various areas of the sculpture placed between the row of trees light up. The use of discarded plastic bottles makes this an environmental piece.
TIME & TIDE BY PAUL & PUTE
This installation represents an hourglass, covered in what appears to be plastic but is actually biodegradable material. The artwork pulsates with an on-off glow and its purpose is to remind the viewer about plastic pollution and that time is running out to conquer the pollution.
SASHA TREES BY ADAM DECOLIGHT
I loved the bright and colourful 'Sasha Trees' installation at Westferry Circus. These glowing fir trees slowly change colour, cycling between many different colours. They create this magical illuminated forest, which constrasts perfectly the tall skyscrapers of Canary Wharf a short distance away. The trees were created with four parts, and these segments all change colour, but I noticed that a whole tree and two or three segments were not working unfortunately.
AURA BY RONAN DEVLIN
This is an interactive art installation that requires a participant to be in front of a camera, and the camera captures the form and feelings to mirror them onto water spray in the dock. I think that it required moving around a lot to create different effects, but people just wanted to stand in front of it, but it reacted more to motion.
WE COULD MEET BY MARTIN RICHMAN
A couple of the installations at Canary Wharf are permanent ones, but they keep being included onto the Winter Lights program. One of these is 'We Could Meet', which is located in the ditch on the side of Crossrail Place. It has been in situ since 2015, and it is created using over 500 rods of light, which change in colour and frequency throughout the evening. The rods are designed to mimic what a visitor may find in a pond.
COLOUR MOVES BY ROMBOUT FRIELING LAB
This installation is located on Adams Plaza Bridge, and for the first time that I have seen, the bridge is open between One Canada Square and Crossrail Place. The installation explores colour and how colour is perceived by the mind by comparisons. The swirling patterns appear to cause motion, so what appears to be red could then appear to be blue. This one really brings to the perspective when looking at the different patterns on the walls and seeing them move and change colour when compared to the rest of the tunnel. It was a very uneasy and 'questioning perception' feeling.
RECYCLISM BY OSKAR KRAJEWSKI /ART OF OK
A small exhibition in a room at Crossrail Place showcases some of the sculptures and artwork of Oskar Krajewski. Outside the room is one exhibition, which is combined with sound to explain the sculptures. The sculptures are created in boxes or hung up, and they demonstrate items that have been recycled. They have been placed inside the transparent boxes in illuminated form to create, what appears to be, futuristic worlds. The wall artwork is created from recycled materials as well. The first sculpture was created completely from parts of old computers and the audio explains that society must stop being so wasteful.
VENA LUMEN BY FONTYS VENA LUMEN TEAM
"Vena Lumen" means "pulsating light", and this installation is a large bench. Visitors are meant to interact with this artwork, which changes pattern and colour when it is sat on and when the visitor's hand is placed on the side over a button that measures heart rate. It is the heart rate of the visitors that makes this bench take on new meaning, creating patterns in the light between the two visitors on both sides of the bench. If no one is touching the button, the bench cycles through solid colours.
ENCHANTED CONNECTIONS BY TINE BECH STUDIO
The roof gardens at the top of Crossrail Place have been transformed into a gradually-changing light show. The trees and walkways are illuminated with different colours, each colour projected onto the trees or bushes. A light mist is also sprayed in front of some of the lights along the path to grab further colour. I loved this transformation of the roof gardens and the glowing of the colours on the trees and walkways. I would love it if this was a permanent installation.
LAST PARADE BY ALEXANDER REICHSTEIN
This video installation has been placed in the water channel next to Crossrail Place, and it contains illuminated silhouettes of animals that walk along the side of the wall. There are a wide variety of animals, each parading from one side to the other side, and the animal sounds are part of the illumination. Lions, birds, elephants, zebra, rhinos, bears, antelope, and buffalo all made an appearance. The animals also appeared to interact by stopping to look around or taking a drink from the water.
LIGHTBENCH BY LBO LICHTBANK
These light benches, which slowly change into different colours, have been a permanent installation at Canary Wharf for the past couple of years now. They are located in Canada Square Park, and I've covered them previously before they were a permanent piece and after (last year), and they have also been on show at other events. They are quite an attraction and encourage visitors to have their photographs taken with them.
SUBMERGENCE BY SQUIDSOUP
A highly-interactive installation was located in Montgomery Park this year for Winter Lights, and it was fascinating and attracted the largest crowds. This installation contains thousands of lights on ropes that hang from the sky, and visitors can walk inside of the artwork and interact. This was generating a lot of photographs and people standing around. The sequence was a little difficult, however. The installation was slow to progress with many of the lights remaining off and then slowly coming on and fading out before all of the lights were on and changed colour, and this part of the sequence did not last very long. I wish that the lights stayed on for longer instead of the very slow build-up. Other than that, it is a great piece.
ANGELS OF FREEDOM BY OGE COLLECTIVE
These angel wings were dotted around various sites at Canary Wharf, and a couple of them were located in the mall with a further three along the trail. They are no stranger to Winter Lights at Canary Wharf as they have previously appeared a couple of years ago. They are highly interactive and encourage a visitor to stand in front while a photograph is taken, giving the participant an angel-like appearance with the illuminated wings. The visitor becomes a part of the artwork.
LIGHT, STONE, PAVEMENT BY RAOUL SIMPSON
This art installation is an illuminated game of hopscotch. The chalk lines have been replaced by illuminated ribbons. This one attracted attention from a couple of children visiting the event.
FLOW BY SQUIDSOUP
This light installation visualises the flow of energy from one point to another, and this is visualised by patterns and design ripples. The lights flow from one part of the pattern to the next, and sometimes the whole pattern is illuminated before it changes again.
FLOATING ISLANDS BY MÜRÜDE MEHMET
Local children from Tower Hamlets have created these colourful floating forms with the help of community artist Mürüde Mehmet. All of the floating and illuminated artwork has been created from plastic recycled bottles. They have been placed into the fountain at Jubilee Park to showcase an awareness of plastic pollution and for viewers to see the damage caused by one-time-use bottles and the waste generated.
PRISMATICA BY RAW DESIGN IN COLLABORATION WITH ATOMIC3
Giant and illuminated prisms have made a new appearance for this year's new Winter Lights at Canary Wharf. This time, the tall prisms are in the shape of triangular towers and placed onto pedestals that spin when the visitors interact with them. The spectrum of the colours shift and change when they are interacted with, and these attracted a lot of attention with visitors participating in the creation of the artwork. On my visit, I found it particularly difficult to obtain a decent photograph because the installation proved to be extremely popular.
TWO HEARTS BY STUART LANGLEY
These two giant illumiated red hearts are projected onto one of the buildings at Canary Wharf. The hearts pulsate gently, glowing and fading in luminosity. They demonstrate the life and support of the buildings. They remined me of Valentine's Day, which is only a month away now.
BIT.FALL BY JULIUS POPP
Another permanent piece that is showcased each year on the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf brochure is this illuminated water feature. I've showcased it each year with a different word, but I did not hang around it as much this year because it was getting late, but I managed to capture the word "entangled". The artwork blends technology, water, and light to create a set of falling words that have been taken from 'The Times' website.
WHALE GHOST BY PITAYA
This one wasn't working when I visited it, but apparently it was earlier in the evening, and I should have seen it as I started off a few yards away at Cabot Square. I have seen a video of it, and the strucutre is formed to look like a whale skeleton, as the name suggests. It is illuminated into a gradually-changing colour, but it moves as a whale would move, and whale noises can be heard around it. It is another environmental artwork that showcases the plight of our sea creatures.
Previous visits to the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf can be seen below:
Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf 2018
Canary Wharf Winter Lights (2017)
Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf (2016)
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