Canary Wharf is lighting up for Winter Lights Festival, and here’s what you can expect to see.
With thirty-three installations dotted around Canary Wharf, there’s a lot to see at the free Winter Lights 2018. The festival runs from January 16th-27th, and it’s free to attend. The installations will illuminate from 5pm to 10pm – you can plot out a route by having a peep at the festival map here. In the meantime, here are some pretty pictures of everything Winter Lights has to offer!
1. Sonic Light Bubble
Where: Jubilee Plaza
Designed by ENESS, this is a six-metre wide bubble which responds to touch. Expect it to produce light and sounds when you get close enough.
2. Bit.fall
Where: Chancellor Passage
Cheekily, this is a permanent installation that has been included in the festival lineup. Julius Popp created this piece, in which falling water droplets are illuminated to produce a series of words.
3. Polaris
Where: Cabot Place
An installation designed to look like the Northern Lights, Laurent Fort’s Polaris is open from 12-10pm.
4. Halo
Where: Cabot Square
Soon to be levitating above the fountain in Cabot Square, Halo (seen here at another festival) is a floating ring of light created by Venividimultiplex.
5. The Cube
Where: Cubitt Steps
At night, Ottotto’s cube reflects the scenery around it, giving you a whole new view of Canary Wharf.
6. Apparatus Florius
Where: Westferry Circus
Under the trees of Westferry Circus, Tom Dekyvere’s illumination will connect a series of geometric shapes to reflect the growth of a plant.
7. Urban Patterns
Where: Columbus Courtyard
Hundreds of colourful lines will intersect to turn trees into barriers of light, thanks to Kasjo Studio.
8. Lightbenches
Where: Columbus Courtyard
Another permanent installation pressed into festival service, these ten colour-changing illuminated benches were designed by LBO Lichtbank.
9. Dazzling Dodecahedron
Where: Wren Landing
Amberlights are responsible for this one: twelve colourful panels will turn into a funky disco ball when the sun goes down.
10. Pixels
Where: Adams Plaza
Jonas Vorwerk’s highly interactive exhibit invites you to build structures out of multicoloured blocks. Think illuminated Lego and you won’t be far off.
11. We Can Meet
Where: Crossrail Place Quayside
Hidden inside a water channel are 500 illuminated rods, which change colour throughout the day and evening, thanks to the vision of Martin Richman.
12. Flora
Where: Crossrail Place Quayside
You’re in control of Philipp Artus’ piece, manipulating a touchpad to create patterns that resemble plants.
13. On Your Wavelength
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
One of last year’s most popular installations, On Your Wavelength is a series of 30,000 LED lights that are controlled by the human mind. Pop on the EEG headset and watch Marcus Lyall’s installation respond to your thought patterns.
14. Selected Works
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
A second installation from Amberlights, this series will reflect and refract light to throw out dazzling patterns.
15. Tempus
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
From the mind of Ben Rosseau comes Tempus, a version of a binary clock which tells the time using illuminated lines.
16. Clones
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
Joachim Suglocki creates glow in the dark paintings using geometric designs, and you can find them at Crossrail Place.
17. Fracture
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
This installation, from British artist Jessica Lloyd-Jones, will change colour and shape when viewed from different angles.
18. Luna
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
Mixing light and origami, this folding installation was developed by Kinetech Design.
19. Reduced Landscapes
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
An homage to the eclipse, Reduced Landscapes is the brainchild of Maja Petric.
20. Reflecting HOLONS
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
By combining transparent foil and spinning motors, Michiel Martens & Jetske Visser have mimicked the journey of water droplets.
21. Made By Manos
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
Combining fine bone china and LED lights, Manos Kalamenios has brought several creations to Winter Lights 2018.
22. Future Fashion
Where: Level 3, Crossrail Place
Using the power of social media, you can change the colour of the model’s clothes, meaning that no two visits to this installation by Cute Circuit will ever be the same.
23. Helios
Where: Crossrail Place Roof Garden
This three-way collaboration between DPA Lighting Consultants, LED Linear, and Architainment Lighting represents the phases of the sun.
24. Luma Paint Light Graffiti
Where: Crossrail Place Roof Garden
Lichtfaktor invites you to create your own light graffiti and map it on to any surface in the vicinity.
25. Estuary Poem For Wyndham Lewis And Other Works
Where: Lobby, One Canada Square
Artist Robert Montgomery initially set this poem on fire (as you can see), before reconstructing it out of neon and LED. A film playing next to the installation will show the full process of destruction and creation.
26. Playful Shadows
Where: Canada Place
Visitors will enter Malgosia Benham’s cube and use their bodies to create shadows in a range of different colours.
27. Vapour
Where: Window Gallery, Jubilee Walk
Fenella Osbourne’s creation reflects and refracts light onto the surrounding structures, creating vivid illusions.
28. Made By Manos
Where: Window Gallery, Canada Walk
Another piece by Manos Kalamenios, this one resembles looking into a microscope at a world of colours.
29. Coup De Foudre II
Where: Churchill Place
You may have seen this installation from Bill Culbert before, as it’s a regular fixture in Canary Wharf. Lines of coloured light flow endlessly around the building, diverging and reconnecting.
30. Abstract
Where: Montgomery Square
A new piece by Collectif Coin, Abstract represents the passing of time through the rising and falling of these LED triangles.
31. Intrude
Where: Jubilee Park
Easily the cutest exhibit at Winter Lights, this is a series of giant inflatable bunnies, illuminated with white light. Amanda Parer raises questions about environmental degradation with this piece.
32. Sunlight Graffiti
Where: Level 1 Jubilee Place
Little Sun will provide the lamp, and you do the rest. Weave patterns, write things, or simply jump around, and they’ll capture it with long-exposure photography to create beautiful images. Two sessions daily between 12-2pm, and 5-10pm.
33. Colour Me Beautiful
Where: Level 2 Jubilee Place
Another interactive exhibit, this captures the image of people walking along colourful catwalks, and posts them onto a giant screen. Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it!
For more information and visitor guides, check out the Canary Wharf website.