The lights will be going on all over London in January as a major arts festival brings artist-created illuminations to 20 landmark locations across the West End and King’s Cross.
A host of artists have been recruited for Lumiere London with the first four announced today. They include Julian Opie, famous for his cartoonish celebrity portraits (such as the Blur: Best Of album) and his walking figures on Euston Road and in the windows of St. Mary's hospital in Paddington; though his exact plans for the festival are still under wraps.
Then there's American artist Janet Echelman, who is known for making grand scale works inspired by natural forces. Her project for London is called 1.8London, a vast pulsing net sculpture that will hang overhead like a wave. Indeed, it's inspired by the 2011 Japanese Tsunami, which was so powerful it cut 1.8 micro-seconds off the length of the day temporarily.
Also announced, the Irish duo Cleary Connolly whose contribution is called Joining the Dots and has been developed out of consultations with psychologists and the local community in King's Cross where it will go on display. And finally, there's Belgian studio LAb[au] with their project BinaryWaves, which will turn the electromagnetic waves that carry telecommunications into light, sound and motion across 40 undulating panels.
Lumiere London will be a free event taking place from 14-17 January 2016. It's organised by Artichoke with Team London, the Mayor’s volunteering programme for London, that is now recruiting volunteers for the event — you can sign up here.
