If you spot a cluster of humungous bubbles by the escalators outside the Cheesegrater, there's no need to get in a lather.
The iridescent orbs are 'Evanescent' — an art installation from Sydney-based design studio Atelier Sisu, which has already blown these massive bubbles in their Australian hometown, as well as in Melbourne.
Of course, the 'bubbles' — grouped together in clusters towering up to 7.5 metres — are not soap bubbles at all; they're made from a colour-reflecting dichroic film, which reacts the same way to the sunlight as an actual bubble (i.e forming coruscating colours, and reflecting the surrounding scenery in ways that'll make you 'ohh' and 'ahh'). The idea, says Atelier Sisu, is that the bubbles allow you to see the city in a new light.
You can get in close up to the bubbles at the Cheesegrater aka 122 Leadenhall Street, from now until 10 February — and it doesn't cost anything to visit. We're positively foaming with excitement, even if a better spot for this soapy installation would've been by Paddington's giant bath plug.
Evanescent is at the west entrance of the Leadenhall Building until 10 February 2023. It's free to go and see
