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Canary Wharf is literally lit af right now, thanks to 30 gleaming light installations dotted all over the business district as part of the annual Winter Lights Festival. The glowing sculptures and structures are the creations of boundary-pushing light artists from across the globe. For the next 11 days, you’ll be able to create your own glowing sunlight graffiti, control a tunnel of 30,000 LED lights with your mind and touch a pulsating, 6-metre-wide ‘Sonic Light Bubble’. And the best part? It’s all totally free. Here are some of the shining sights that’ll set your eyes sparkling.
This huge ‘Halo’ hovering above Cabot Square fountain by designers in The Netherlands is a celebration of the sun.
The ‘Sonic Light Bulb’ by Australian art and design practice Eness pulsates with light and sounds when visitors approach or touch it.
The ‘Reflecting Holons’ by Dutch artists Michiel Martens and Jetske Visser use long strips of oil and spinning motors to create flashing water drops.
‘On Your Wavelength’ by British artist Marcus Lyall is an interactive light sculpture and musical composition controlled by your brain through a techy headset. As your thoughts change so do the light sequences and music. Trippy.
If a glimpse of the Northern Lights is still on your bucket list, don’t miss ‘Polaris’ by French designer Laurent Font, inspired by the Polar Aurora Borealis.
‘Abstract’ by Collectif Coin is a pixel matrix where movement, sound and light all interweave.
Step inside the ‘Dazzling Dodecahedron’, where each of the 12 pentagon panels emits a jewel-coloured glow.
Do your best to keep up with ‘Bit.Fall’ by Julius Popp, which features an ever-changing cascade of words drawn from a live newsfeed on The Times website.
Take a selfie next to a giant illuminated rabbit, because, well, why not.
When your eyes are tired, take a seat on one of the colour-changing ‘Lightbenches’.
Winter Lights at Canary Wharf is on until Saturday Jan 27, between 5pm and 10pm. Installations are placed in various places around the Canary Wharf area, you can download a map from canarywharf.com or pick one up when you arrive.
Main image: Andrew Lalchan/Flickr