For the second year in a row, Canary Wharf have hosted "Summer Lights", the summer edition of their popular Winter Lights festival featuring various colourful sculptures. The "Winter Lights" festival was cancelled this year as there was uncertainty about lockdowns, and due to last year's disruption, the summer edition was born. Whereas "Winter Lights" focuses on illuminated sculptures to bring some brightness into the dull January days, "Summer Lights" focuses on colour and using the sun to project colourful artwork. Below are the sculptures for this year's "Summer Lights", including some items that have previously been on display.
Expanded Landscapes by Nathaniel Rackowe
Tear by Richard Hudson
Hudson's work is organic in form, and this mirrored tear-shaped form is displayed permanently.
Lights on Data by Fisheye
Visitors are encouraged to sit inside this sculpture and to see how the sun casts shadow and colour around you. This sculpture contains a solar-powered phone charger.
Love Birds by Atelier Sisu
This immersive installation glides above the viewer; colourful birds move in the breeze, and their semi-translucent form casts shadows and colours.
Kaleidoscopic Prisms by Fiona Grady
Not pictured as I photographed it last year, and it's mainly covered by bikes and kiosks, the pyramid of glass above Jubilee Place Mall contains trinagular shapes and colour that reflect as the visitors walk through.
Gleamhhh by OGE Design Group
This sculpture was designed to create a sense of awe as the sunshine and wind interact with it. Visitors can also spin it. Apparently, it is meant to play melodies, but I did not hear anything when I interacted with it.
The Knot by Richard Hudson
Organic and natural shapes are created by this sculptor, who also created the mirroed "Tear" mentioned earlier. This is an abstract form of organic shapes, which looks almost like a mirrored body at certain angles.
Planet @ Risk by Mark Swysen
This globe-like sculpture uses the sun to appear to shine through and reflect the light while it also projects their reflection. I'm not sure it was working correctly during my visit as it was fenced in and underneath a tree, so it wasn't able to get much sunlight.
The Long and Winding Road by Ottotto
This structure is made from recycled materials - yellow pipes that encourage visitors to walk through and to be immersed in yellow. The sculpture has been made to tour different festivals, and it can be dismantled and reused, resulting in zero waste.
Infinity and Beyond by Martin Richman & Emma Kate Matthews
Visitors can look through the holes in these sculptures to see the reflections of themselves and their surroundings, similar to a kaleidoscope. The panels are located at different heights so that different visitors of all different sizes (and wheelchairs) can view the work.
Expanded Landscapes by Nathaniel Rackowe
Colourful and transparent panels appear like architectural forms, which depicts the scenery of Canary Wharf. The reflections and light create shadows and shapes.
O.T. 1131 by Stefan Reiss
This sculpure started its life as a digital drawing transformed into 3D.
Love IRL by Stuart Langley
This colourful heart encourages people to connect with it to create photographs.
Captivated by Colour by Camille Walala
This is a permanent installation at Canary Wharf and uses patterns and colours to create shapes and forms. It is always a popular spot for photographs.
Ebb & Flow by Louis Thompson
This installation is located inside One Canary Wharf and was inspired by towering skylines, and it celebrates United Nations 'Year of Glass 2022'. There are thirteen sculpture installations in this series, and I have photographed a few of them below.
Pointillist Bird by Yoni Alter
The artist was inspired by the 1880s pointillist painting movement (small dots like pixels to create a picture when stepping back). These large dots create the form of a bird, and the forms create shadows to help give it definition. I think you have to use your imagination to see the bird.
Helix by Calidos
The form of this rainbow-coloured sculpture represents a DNA strand. Visitors can interact with it by spinning it.
Ocean Rise by Aphra Shemza
The purpose of the sculpture, which is a permanent edition at Canary Wharf, is to highlight the rising sea levels. It is made from recycled materials.
Shine Your Colours by Tine Bech
These coloured glass panels reflect the different forms behind them, so visitors can become a part of the artwork.
Summer Lights takes place until the 20th of August.
Previous Summer Lights sculptures at Canary Wharf:
Previous Winter Lights sculptures at Canary Wharf
- Canary Wharf Winter Lights (2022) - Cancelled
- Canary Wharf "Connected By Light" 2021
- Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2020
- Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2019
- Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf 2018
- Canary Wharf Winter Lights (2017)
- Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf (2016)
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