Winter lights: installations to brighten up the start of 2016

Design | 15 Jan 2016

The start of the year is usually a season of doom and gloom. Filled with post-holiday blues, January seems hopelessly dark no matter what. However, here to brighten up London’s late winter months are a host of eye catching illuminations.

These dazzling installations – by various international artists – are transforming these bleak surroundings through innovative technology. From floating florescent wires and kinetic drones to a mesmerising light whirlpool, we’ve been hypnotised by these glowing spectacles. Here’s to January, the month of light!

Pictured: bit.fall, by German artist Julius Popp on show at Winter Lights festival. This waterfall of letters catches the eye for a mere moment, before dropping into nothingness

Writer: Sujata Burman

Binary Waves, by LAB[au], at Lumiere London
Regent’s Canal

Made up of 40 undulating illuminated panels, LAB[au]’s touring Binary Waves measures the infrastructural flows in a city. Their electro-magnetic fields transfer kinetic energy which enables them to move, thus organically creating luminous red stripes that are formed by the surrounding aerodynamic activity. Photography: Matthew Andrews. Produced by Artichoke

Dresses, by Tae Gon Kim, at Lumiere London
King’s Cross

French-Korean artist Tae Gon Kim has taken inspiration from Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse for his ominously sculptural dresses. Made up of fibre-optic LEDs, the silhouettes alter in hue over time, producing a phantom effect that can also be viewed in window displays at Liberty London. Photography: Matthew Andrews

My Light Is Your Light, by Alaa Minawi, at Winter Lights
Jubilee Park, Canary Wharf

The most emotive installation of the group, Lebanese designer Alaa Minawi has created his work as a tribute to suffering Syrian refugees. His delicate wire lighting depicts the walk of a struggling family, capturing the true essence of pain through illumination

The Light of the Spirit by Patrice Warrener at Lumiere London
Westminster Abbey

Known for his chromolithe technique of painting, French lighting artist Patrice Warrener brings his reverent style to London’s historic Westminster Abbey. Highlighting the West Front, Warener outlines the significant sculptural figures on the building in a fluorescent colours, emphasising their spiritual importance

Infinity Pools, by Stephen Newby, at Winter Lights
Middle Dock, Canary Wharf

Appearing as if a whirlpool of lights, Stephen Newby’s piece is formed using an ’infinity mirror’ illusion. The reflecting light floats on the surface but gives the impression of descending deep into the water, with a calming – yet mesmerising – effect

Aura, by Simon Rycroft and Paul Thursfield, at Winter Lights
Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf

This glowing interactive structure changes in response to the presence of an audience, thanks to Philips Colour Kinetics LED lighting and surround sound. Even a small movement can alter the shade of the light and pitch of the sound, the light work simultaneously acting as a hyper-sensitive musical instrument

Les Lumineoles, by Porté Par Le Vent, at Lumiere London
Piccadilly

A host of ethereal creatures are swarming through Piccadilly this season. Created by French lighting show specialist Porté Par Le Vent, the floating animals arrive in pastel hues that are gentle on the eye. Photography: Matthew Andrews. Produced by Artichoke

Les Voyageurs by Cédric Le Borgne at Lumiere London
St James’s

Paris-born artist Cédric Le Borgne’s chicken wire sculptures have travelled the world. Always connecting with their environment, they appear floating in the most random of spaces. This time overlooking St James’s, the figures are found sitting on buildings or flying through the air with grace, acting as if guardian angels for the metropolis

1.8 London, by Janet Echelman, at Lumiere London
Oxford Circus

Echelman’s aerial works have travelled from Boston to Durham, now landing in London’s Oxford Circus. Made up of knotted twine, the artwork incorporates ’dynamic light elements’ which react to the wind. Photography: Matthew Andrews. Produced by Artichoke

Chorus, by Ray Lee, at Winter Lights
Columbus Courtyard, Canary Wharf

More of a sound installation than a light one, these tripods carry speakers holding a series of speedy spinning drones. A peaceful ambiance is created across the space by way of the unusually pitched sounds pinging around the giant structures

On the Wings of Freedom, by Aether & Hemera, at Winter Lights
Jubilee Park, Canary Wharf

The rainbow shades in this installation can be changed with your mobile phone. Realised by UK-based digital lighting artists Aether & Hemera, the 94 LED butterflies can be controlled to create different patterns and waves throughout the entire sculpture. Photography: Frantzesco Kangaris/PA Wire

A Parallel Image, by Gebhard Sengmüller, at Winter Lights
Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf

A truly technological experience, this piece appears raw and ’in progress’. Vienna-based artist Gebhard Sengmüller has deconstructed the image displayed in the installation right down to the pixels, by connecting the camera and monitor using 2,500 cables. All is viewable to the audience, encouraging them to connect with the work and decipher the image in front of them

Lightbench, Bernd Spiecker for LBO-Lichtbankobjekte
Grosvenor Square

German designer Bernd Spiecker has evolved his version of the light bench over 30 years. Made up of acrylic glass and illuminated by LEDs, the regular public bench subject evokes a sense of humour in its glowing form

INSTALLATIONS LIGHTING

Winter lights: installations to brighten up the start of 2016

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