Lumiere London
Various locations
Jan 18-21
A pair of animated lovers projected on to the facade of the Royal Academy of Arts, and mid-flight flamingos suspended above Chinatown are just two of the installations lighting up locations across London this week for the dazzling Lumiere festival. They join 38 other specially commissioned works by artists from across Europe to create a free nocturnal art show designed to dispel the January gloom.
Last year, the four-day extravaganza lured more than a million visitors into exploring the streets of the capital by night. Highlights of 2018’s event include the return of French digital artist Patrice Warrener’s magnificent The Light Of The Spirit installation to Westminster Abbey, which sees the Great West Gate ablaze in jewel-like hues.
Highlights of 2018’s event include the return of French digital artist Patrice Warrener’s magnificent The Light Of The Spirit installation to Westminster Abbey
Camille Gross and Leslie Epstein’s fantastical station clock beamed on to the Hotel Café Royal might just force Piccadilly Circus into taking a pause for breath
Meanwhile, at King’s Cross Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s ethereal seascape explores rising sea levels by using LED lights and lasers to immerse visitors in a virtual flood.
Camille Gross and Leslie Epstein’s fantastical station clock beamed on to the Hotel Café Royal might just force Piccadilly Circus into taking a pause for breath, while illuminated seesaws in Mayfair let children convert playground antics into art.
When the festival visited Durham in November (where Lumiere originally began eight years ago), one of the most moving sights was Australian-British artist Simeon Nelson’s throbbing crimson globe, Cosmoscope. The science-themed sculpture has made the journey down south to glitter in a cafe-lined street near the British Museum.
Entre Les Rangs filled Durham Cathedral’s cloisters with a mass of illuminated flowers resembling fields of wheat; this time, the stems shimmer in King’s Cross.
Circus Bijou’s pop-up Umbrella Project. Staging a coup in the capital is no easy feat but it doesn’t faze Artichoke, the outdoor events company behind Lumiere
Staging a coup in the capital is no easy feat but it doesn’t faze Artichoke, the outdoor events company behind Lumiere. After all, in 2006 it pulled off parading the enormous Sultan’s Elephant puppet through London. Still, executives will doubtless be praying for no repeats of last week, when a giant inflatable ball erected for the festival began swaying precariously in the wind, bringing Oxford Circus to a standstill.
lumiere-festival.com