One of the safest outdoor treats this Christmas is to enjoy some festive lights, many in retail hubs keen to increase footfall through the provision of dazzling illumination. But venturing forth after dark into the heart of central London can be perilous at times of global pandemic, not to mention busy, so I plumped for something closer to home. What's more I visited during daylight hours on a non-working day so am pleased to confirm that social distancing was not an issue.
Canary Wharf usually display Winter Lights around their estate in January, but this year have plumped for fewer installations over a longer period. They've called it Connected by Light, the aim "to bring a sense of calm and reflection in these difficult times", and flicked the switch on nine artworks earlier this week. It's possible to see them all in half an hour flat although that's something of an orienteeringchallenge. The consumption of marshmallow-based hot drinks remains optional.
This is Tetra Park by Mandylights. The centre of Westferry Circus is littered with tetrahedral light filaments assembled into star shapes. Every few seconds they change colour, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes belatedly and sometimes only a selection. Blue, orange, red and white are amongst the pre-programmed hues. It probably looks better after dark. Artbollox: The series of stars sometimes appear to work together, while at other times the installation breaks down into seemingly chaotic colour.
This is Colour Cubed by Mandylights. A single light bulb burns at the heart of a cubed steel frame filled with stained glass and tilted to a jaunty angle. Apparently it rotates, but not at ten in the morning, casting multicoloured shadows across Wren Landing. I particularly liked the irregular octagon of metal barriers surrounding it but I suspect this is purely for crowd control reasons. It probably looks better after dark. Artbollox: A display of coloured light just as brilliant, dominant and inspiring as any other artwork or object in our lives.
This is Curious Fluorious by Baker & Borowski. They've taken inspiration from Alice in Wonderland and scattered cut-out playing cards, toadstools, teapots and flamingos across Crossrail Place Roof Garden. Their cunning slant is to colour everything in luminous pinks, blues, greens and yellows, a palette reminiscent of all the highlighters in a school pencil case. But it's not quite as clever or as brilliant as it sounds, more a themed walkthrough with Instagram backdrops in mind. It might not look any better after dark. Artbollox: The installation features giant sculptural pieces that transform the space with a luminous glow, creating selfie moments aplenty as we head on a magical journey.
This is Ghost Trees by Tom Wilkinson. Apparently "When the East India docks were constructed in 1790 evidence was found of the remains of a great subterranean forest in a state of preservation". I can find no corroborating evidence of this, plus Canary Wharf isn't built on the site of the East India Docks, but hey. All Tom has done is drop some concentric neon circles onto the dock floor opposite the tube station entrance, the most interesting question being to ponder on how they're powered. I hope it looks better after dark. Artbollox: Curiously the tops of the trees were all turned southward as if they had been swept by some great convulsion of nature coming from the north.
This is The Stories Under Our Feet by Elisa Artesero. Underneath some of the benches in Jubilee Park are punched-out strips with lamps behind them so that the shadows splay out at your feet and spell words. Collectively they spell out the lines of a poem, not so much Wordsworth as the kind of thing you might buy for an auntie in a garden centre gift shop. Two of the lines are Memories Reborn as Echoes and Dreaming Together In The Dances Of Time. I'll not reveal the third so as not to spoil the overall effect. It only works after dark. Artbollox: These dream-like micro-poems encourage moments of contemplation, connection, and wonder.
This is Murmuration by Squidsoup. Officially its illuminated orbs "visualise a swarm of networked data moving through real space". Essentially it's a lot of balls hanging from a large frame. It was first shown at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona and makes a good job of filling Montgomery Square. I'm told they make a sound when lit but I'm not sure if they go up and down. I'm sure it looks better after dark. Artbollox: A piece originally inspired by the flight patterns of flocks of starlings, here transformed into digital form, but navigating and negotiating its way around the physical location.
This is Office Party by Parker Heyl. It's at Wood Wharf, the enormous new neighbourhood emerging to the east of Canary Wharf, and plays out across the windows of an empty block at 20 Water Street. The concept is that the office is having a party while the employees are away, so the lights flash and the blinds go up and down. But it's also an advert for the extortionately expensive apartments now available in neighbouring towers and conveniently plugged on the art installation's map. It's the only one I'd be tempted to go back and see after dark. Artbollox: “Office Party” comes from the playful idea that our work spaces may come to life in our absence. The blinds’ unexpected movement in an office after the workers have left, creates a moment of magic. It also touches on the future of architectural design and speculates about responsive and kinetic structures which can adapt to the needs of inhabitants.
