Winter Lights

Last night after work I took the tube down to Canary Wharf to see the annual Winter Lights display of light sculpture and immersive art. I do this pretty much every January and it's always fun. Winter Lights only runs for about ten days, and this year it was closed one of those days for Storm Éowyn, so there wasn't much time to waste. I'm glad I got to see it again.

As usual, the artworks come from a variety of artists around the globe. Above is "Evanescent Droplets" by Atelier Sisu of Australia and Peru. That woman stood there taking selfies for a good three or four minutes. She must have taken a hundred of them. I was trying to wait for her to get out of the way, but she never did.

Here's "Artificial Humans" by Atelier Haute Cuisine from Belgium. Apparently the artists asked AI to create an image of a light art installation, and AI came up with a vision of hunched figures all looking down and milling around in a group. The artists then brought that concept to life in the real world.

And here's a detail from "Stitching Light," by Emergency Exit Arts with Ruhul Abdin & Oitij-jo, from the UK and Bangladesh. Using traditional fabrics and sewing methods, combined with illuminated thread, women from Bangladesh and the UK told stories of their lives on fabric panels arranged around a short walkway.

And finally, here's "Portal," a monumental work by Lucid Creates in the UK. It's a giant doorway composed of highly reflective material, illuminated on the inner surface and echoing the shapes of the surrounding buildings. At 13 meters high, it is both "delicate in feel and dramatic in scale," as the exhibit notes say.

Pictures don't really do many of the works justice, because they include sound components and pulsing or moving light that a photo can't capture. So here's a video of the more dynamic ones, with a guide beneath to point out what you're seeing and hearing:

1. "bit.fall" by Julius Popp from Germany, a permanent installation at Canary Wharf that I've blogged before, which takes random words from five news sources and instantly converts them into a literal waterfall.
2. "The Clew," by Ottotto from Portugal, a round red-lit gateway, also a permanent feature that I've previously blogged.
3. "Aj Vana Be" by Benedikt Tolar of Czechia (apparently what we're now calling the Czech Republic?). I love this piece, which converted bathtubs salvaged from demolished council housing into illuminated, musical art. Behind it you'll see Newfoundland, a huge apartment building where Dave and I fantasize about living.
4. "Circa" by Limbic Cinema (UK), where each of twelve circles overlooking the Thames represents average light fall over one month of the year. (Sound design by Joe Acheson of Hidden Orchestra.)
5. "Error" by Vendel & DeWolf of the Netherlands. Based on the idea that evolution stems from genetic mistakes and mutation, "the swirling black hole in the work 'Error' is then a striking, abstract visual representation connecting the randomness of the universe with the randomness of technology -- sucking us all into the unknown," according to the exhibit notes.
6. "Wave" by Squidsoup (UK), which uses about 500 suspended orbs to create the effect of breaking ocean waves. (And squawking seagulls, if I'm not mistaken!)
7. "Evanescent Droplets" by Atelier Sisu (Australia/Peru), is supposed to capture the ephemeral, transient state of soap bubbles, evoking "universal playfulness and childlike wonder" in our fragile world.
8. "Mirage," also by Atelier Sisu, is a metaphor for the "fabricated mirage of social media," using coated acrylic panels that display light differently at different times of day and night and depending on the position of the viewer. It seemed to me like a very subtle piece. Maybe too subtle.
9. "Bird Passing By" by Luminariste (Benjamin Nesme and Marc Sicard) of France. The 64 sections of this sculpture imitate a bird in flight, and bring to mind migrations that carry birds through urban and rural spaces, both solo and in flocks. It's another of my favorites and I show it from two angles, during two different segments of the light and sound program.
10. "Portal" by Lucid Creates, as described above.
11. "Positive Spin" by Liz Harry and Kazimier Productions (UK). Based on childhood experiences at beachfront game arcades, it invites viewers to step up and ask a sort of gigantic slot machine for a fortune. (A positive one, of course. The guy who spins it here gets the results "physical growth," "emotional growth" and "friendship.")
12. "Illusion Hole" by UxU Studio of Taiwan. Using precisely arranged lights, the artists create a "black hole" that seems to open in the middle of a Canary Wharf waterway, prompting viewers to consider the truth of their perceptions.

All in all, I found it a fascinating show, and it was fun to get out and walk around. (This opinion may not be universally shared -- I passed one man on the sidewalk at just the moment that he muttered to his companion the words "boring and cold.") The crowds weren't too bad, and I bought a cup of mulled wine and enjoyed it while sitting on a bench watching "Bird Passing By," so that gave me a little boost of warmth.