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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.
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
Imagination London
A-bit Immersive | 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
Michael Davis
Illumaphonium | 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
Benedetto Bufalino & Benoit Deseille
Aquarium | 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
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.
Production Partners
Key Partners
Event Partners
Supporters
- Macao Government Tourism Office
- Mondrian London
- Leathersellers’
- BAM Construction
- Coin Street Community Builders
- The Baring Foundation
- Creative Barking and Dagenham
- Lambeth Council
- London Borough of Redbridge
- Royal Borough of Greenwich
- Square
- Waltham Forest
- Everyman
- Hammerson
- Croydon Partnership
- City Cruises
- Durham Distillery
- European Commission
- The Royal Netherlands Embassy
- QPark