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Aether by Architecture Social Club
Aether by Architecture Social Club with Max Cooper, West Handyside Canopy, King’s Cross. Lumiere London 2018, 18 - 21 January, produced by Artichoke and commissioned by the Mayor of London. Photo by Matthew Andrews

Bigger, bolder and brighter than before

Commissioned by the Mayor of London.

The UK’s largest light festival returned for a spectacular second edition. London’s iconic architecture was transformed into a dazzling nocturnal art exhibition.  Visitors could explore over 50 installations in six locations across the north and south of the River Thames.

The second edition of Lumiere London drew to a close on Sunday 21 January 2018, with organisers and critics declaring the festival an emphatic success.

London’s cityscape was transformed over four nights, as its streets, buildings and public spaces were illuminated by more than 50 artworks by UK and international artists from 14 different countries.

First estimates indicate that there were more than 1.5 million visits to the festival over four nights, with visitors traversing the pedestrianised city centre and taking in sites across six city destinations: London’s West End, King’s Cross, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, Westminster & Victoria, and South Bank & Waterloo. 

A firm festival favourite was The Light of the Spirit Chapter 2 by French artist Patrice Warrener who returned to London to add to his digital painting of Westminster Abbey’s intricately carved North and West doors, in bright and luminous colour. In Seven Dials, people were delighted by the return of Aquarium, a traditional red London telephone box filled with tropical fish.

As well as lifting spirits and bringing joy to the darkest days of winter, Lumiere London encouraged artists to use light as a medium to address topical global issues. Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde flooded Granary Square to create an underwater world lit with blue LED lights. His work Waterlicht responded to the climate change crisis showing viewers what it would be like if sea level continue to rise.

Meanwhile in St James’s Churchyard artist Alaa Minawi, played tribute to Syrian refugees with My Light is Your Light and Tony Heaton explored subtle questions of disability with Raspberry Ripple on the Southbank Centre. Interactive installations proved a crowd favourite, encouraging children and adults to play on the streets of London. Visitors laughed and beamed with pleasure as they took turns riding Impulse, a series of illuminated seesaws by Lateral Office, that lined South Molton Street.

Audience icon

1.5 million

Audience

Installation icon

50

Artworks

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80

Technicians

Volunteer icon

1,000

Stewards and volunteers

Number

15,000

flower-like reflectors for Entre les Rangs

Community participants icon

220

Local people took part in Asalto London

Artists

Jacques Rival

IFO (Identified Flying Object) | View Bio

Philippe Morvan

Dot | View Bio

Maya Mouawad and Cyril Laurier

Uppergtound | View Bio

TILT

Lampounette | View Bio

Daan Roosegaarde

Waterlicht | View Bio

Mader Wiermann

Grabber | View Bio

Maro Avrabou & Dimitri Xenakis

Guardian Angels | View Bio

Rami Bebawi / KANVA

Entre Les Rangs | View Bio

Architecture Social Club with Max Cooper

Aether | View Bio

Nathaniel Rackowe

Deconstructing the Domestic | View Bio

Daniel Iregui

Control No Control | View Bio

Simon Nelson with Rob Godman and Nick Rothwell

Cosmoscope | View Bio

Ulf Pedersen

Droplets | View Bio

Lateral Office and CS Design, Produced by L4 Studio and Wireframe Studio

Impulse | View Bio

Bernd Spiecker for LBO LichtBankObjekte

Lightbench | View Bio

Robyn Wright

Neon Bikes | View Bio

Aleksandra Stratimirovic

Northern Lights | View Bio

Atsara

[M]ondes | View Bio

Simon Corder

Bough 3, Bough 1 | View Bio

Cédric Le Borgne

Was That A Dream | View Bio

Katarzyna Malejka and Joachim Sługocki

Spectral | View Bio

Studio Roso

Reflektor | View Bio

Stéphane Masson

Supercube | View Bio

Chris Plant

Harmonic Portal | View Bio

Tracey Emin

Be Faithful to Your Dreams | View Bio

Alaa Minawi

My Light Is Your Light | View Bio

Rhys Coren

Love Motion | View Bio

Camille Gross and Leslie Epsztein

Voyage | View Bio

Mader Wiermann

Frictions | View Bio

Julian Opie

Shaida Walking. 2015 | View Bio

James Glancy Design

The Plugs and Bulbs | View Bio

Miguel Chevalier

Origin of The World Bubble 2018 | View Bio

Lantern Company with Jo Pocock

Flamingo Flyaway | View Bio

Lantern Company with Jo Pocock

Nightlife | View Bio

Ron Haselden

Echelle | View Bio

Collectif Coin

Child Hood | View Bio

Mick Stephenson and Electric Pedals

The Rose | View Bio

Daniel Canogar

Asalto London | View Bio

Patrice Warrener

The Light of The Spirit (Chapter 2) | View Bio

Emma Allen

Ruby, Santiago & Adam: Grey Matters | View Bio

Coca-Cola London Eye

Eye Love London | View Bio

David Batchelor

[Light On Their Feet] Foot | View Bio

James Bruges

Thames Pulse | View Bio

Vertigo

The Wave | View Bio

Ulf Langheinrich

OSC-L | View Bio

David Batchelor

Sixty Minute Spectrum | View Bio

Tony Heaton

Raspberry Ripple | View Bio

Cirque Bijou

The Umbrella Project | View Bio

Community Partners across London Boroughs

Bottle Festoon | View Bio

Moments of quiet contemplation

Entre Les Rangs
Entre Les Rangs by Rami Bebawi / KANVA, Lewis Cubitt, Kings Cross. Lumiere London 2018, 18 - 21 January, produced by Artichoke and commissioned by the Mayor of London.

There were moments of contemplation too, with works such as Entre les Rangs, a field of 15,000 flower-like reflectors by artist Rami Bebawi; Droplets,
a sonic installation by Ulf Pedersen in Fitzroy Place; and the mesmerising Harmonic Portal, a soothing display of changing colour on St James’s Church by Chris Plant.

Londoners also provided the inspiration and content for some of the artworks. For Asalto London, Spanish artist Daniel Canogar filmed 220 local people so that they appeared to be climbing the 20-storey Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street. Light on Their Feet: Footfalls for Rambert was created by artist David Ward who photographed the soles of the Rambert dancers’ feet and projected images which faded in and out of visibility on the Rambert building.

Lumiere Durham 2019

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