I have been enjoying Winter Lights at Canary Wharf for the past several years now, and it has become a staple of the London calendar for the middle of January. I was not able to visit it in the middle of the month, so I had to visit it on the final week on the Friday, and it was far more busier than I have ever seen it. I visited with a friend this year so arrived a bit later than I normally would have, and all of the installations were packed, which made it difficult to capture photographs.
Keep reading below to learn about the sculptures from Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2023.
Floating Earth by Luke Jerram: This large-scale globe of the planet earth demonstrates the importance of the planet and climate change.
Fluorescent Firs: These lit-up trees have been placed during the previous years, and they transform the area occupied and gradually change colour.
Crystal Greenhouse by Shared Space and Light: This miniature greenhouse has light projections onto the sides of it, transforming it with different themes such as rain, ice, and crystals.
Emergence by This is Loop: This large-scale sculpture provides entrances for visitors to enjoy an interior space with mirrored prisms.
Glories by Richard William Wheater: Gas-filled glass hoops are known as "glories", and they attempt to recreate nature by scattering light across the water.
Anima by Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary Spaces (MEATS): This immersive sculpture had a long wait of more than thirty minutes to step inside, and once inside, it was packed with people. This artwork symbolises data about people, which places everyone into a global system of stored information and merges with everyone else.
Toroid by This is Loop: This architectural form is made with a circle with mirrored frame to reflect light. Visitors can walk inside and underneath it.
Lightbenches by LBO Lichtbank: The lightbenches have been in place in previous years, and they are favourites, allowing people to sit and enjoy the benches as the colours change.
Out of the Dark by Tom Lambert: This light installation encourages visitors to reflect on themselves and to connect with others around us.
You Exist Here, Now by The Fandangoe Kid: This sculpture features a mirror with a frame around it with the words "You exist here now". The artwork encourages people to reflect upon busy lives and take a break and pause.
Invisible by Daniel Popescu: This tunnel is filled with thousands of angled mirrors with blue and green lights illuminating them. Visitors can be immersed in this world.
Fragmented Appearanced by Gertjan Adema: This mirrored spinning sculpture casts reflections of light around the room.
Intonaluci 'The Light Snails' by Calidos: These sculptures have handles on them that can be spun so that visitors can watch the artwork spiral and create patterns based on the speed.
Elantic 'The Boulder' by Tom&Lien Dekyvere: Discarded circuit boards have been used to create this boulder-shaped installation. The sculpture wishes to highlight that people wish to create a digital version of reality.
The Stars Come Out at Night by Stellar Projects: This installation gently rotates, mimicking the beautiful of the night sky filled with stars. The ground beneath the sculpture is lit up to display patterns of stars and 'we are all made of star stuff'. It is designed to look like a nightlight and provide some comfort to the viewer.
Continuum by Illumaphonium: These geometric mirrored pillars emit sounds as visitors approach and walk amongst them. The theme of the artwork is togetherness.
PING by Gijs Van Bon: Westferry Circus has come to life with over 200 becaons on a track. These beacons light up in a chain reactions, changing its shape and interacting with the environment through light and sound. The colours change from blue to red, green, and every colour in between, set to the soundscape for this interactive installation that encourages the visitors to stop and look.
Permafrost Sleeping Giants by Fisheye: Permafrost is a frozen layer beneath the surface of the earth which defrosts due to climate change. This layer includes important information about the earth. The sculpture is developed to raise awareness of climate crisis. These three mammoth sculptures in blue, green, and red help to highlight the issues.
Some of the light sculptures are permanent, and I've previously photographed them and mentioned them in the other posts. One example is "We Could Meet" by Martin Richman. This sculpture changes in light and frequency throughout the day to respond to changing environment.
I have been visiting Canary Wharf for their annual light trail for the past few years, but last year's was cancelled. In 2021, the event was rebranded and in place over three months. Previous visits to the Winter Lights at Canary Wharf can be seen below:
Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2022 - cancelled
Canary Wharf "Connected by Light" 2021
Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2020
Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2019
Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf 2018
Canary Wharf Winter Lights (2017)
Winter Lights @ Canary Wharf (2016)
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