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From the 30th of January to 3rd February, St. Martin-in-the-Fields church hosted an immersive sound and light installation celebrating the world we live in. The installation is called "Life" and is made up of projections inside the crypt, main part of the church, and outside on the buildings. Last year, a similar immersive show took place, and it was "Space", but I did not have a chance to visit it. I did visit "Life" on an evening after work.

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The projections started outside on the building opposite the church and the church itself as I waited. The building opposite depicted some machinery-inspired imagery with the Earth. 

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After going inside, I walked through the crypt, which was lit up with soothing ambience audio and colourful floral imagery in two of the rooms. This looked stunning with the arches.

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After the crypt, the main experience was held inside the church with a fifteen-minute immersive show covering the walls and ceiling of the church. It covered all aspects of life from small organisms to oceans, jungles, the insect world, and birds. The show transformed the church, and it was very beautiful.

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After the experience in the church, I went outside to see the projection on the side of the church. I could not really see this before as I was at the front of the queue and the sky was not dark enough. The projection on the side of the church was more of a human and cultural theme with different patterns and cultural imagery.

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Overall, this was a good experience, but I felt that it was much too busy. Some people had tickets for later but turned up early, so this could be one reason why I felt that it was over-crowded, and I did not feel that it was best-managed nor organised from this view, which meant that I felt on edge thinking I was standing in everyone's way and did not get to fully enjoy it. Other than that, it was amazing, and I enjoyed the transformation.

When I was in east London earlier this year, I came across new Otto Schade street are on the "Bull in A China Shop" cafe near Shoreditch High Street station. Otto Schade has previously painted on the side of this cafe, and an older artwork of his remains on the side. The cafe now contains additional work by the artist. The artwork contains a bull's head, beer bottle, and ribbon designs. 

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In addition to the new mural, I am also posting an image of the ape face that is painted on the side of a corner shop on Brick Lane. This wall is always obscured now, so it is difficult to get any photograph unless visiting very early or very late.

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I also saw this mural, which I don't seem to have posted yet. It features the artist's silhouette style with two children playing a game with an apple logo during a war.

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Another mural has been repainted as it was looking very faded, and this is located on the side of The Viaduct bar in Shoreditch and features a royal guard.

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I've previously posted about Otto Schade's street art in the following posts:

Otto Schade - The Viaduct and Other
Otto Schade on Farnshaw Street - Eva's Green Apple

New Snoopy Street Art and Other Street Art by Otto Schade in East London

Otto Schade Paints Donna Summer on "Bull In A China Shop" in Shoreditch and Others

Otto Schade Murals on Kingsland Road
Long Street - Otto Schade, CodeFC, The Krah

Street Art by Otto Schade
Otto Schade Paints "The Lady Don't Protest Enough" Mural on Bateman's Row
Otto Schade "Jack the Ripper 2040" Street Art
Otto Schade 'The Believers' and 'WTF'
'Bull in a China Shop', 'Osch-car' and 'Flies Around Sh*t'
Otto Schade 'Peace and Love on the Streets'

Street Artist Otto Schade Paints Southampton 'Zany Zebra' for Charity (and other work)
Street Art Round-up: Spring & Summer 2015
Otto Schade's New Street Art (Meerkats, Portraits, & More) in East London
New Street Art from Horror Crew, Swoon, Otto Schade, HIN, and others
Street Art: Otto Schade

Street artist David Speed has been painting bright pink neon portraits of people and animals across London over the past few years, and his work is so common that I am photographing a new one nearly each time I visit east London. I've covered his work many times on this blog. Below is a section of street art from David Speed that I have photographed over the past few months.

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More posts by David Speed on this blog:

Street Art: David Speed

In December, a collaboration street art mural was painted and arranged by floral designer Renatto Ribeiro and Dave Plants. The work was completed in early December, and I captured the photographs in early January, so the piece was not looking its absolute best. The floral display was completed by Renatto Ribeiro, who is known for creating stunning floral displays professionally. A floral display combined with street art provides a wonderful combination of materials and styles. Dave Plants is responsible for the portrait of the female.

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The female is surrounded by various winter foliage, bringing back the pagan meaning of the winter season.

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The artwork represents that the cycle of nature is ever-changing, and nothing lasts forever. 

Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2023

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Winter Lights at Canary Wharf has become a staple of the London calendar for the middle of January each year; they previously had an ice sculpting festival, but this was replaced several years ago by the "Winter Lights" festival. For two weeks from the middle of January, Canary Wharf hosts a light sculpture trail. There are thirteen light sculptures to visit this year and a few permanent light sculptures to visit, and I've been visiting every year since 2016. The event is held over two weeks and ends on 27 January. Keep reading to see the different light sculptures at this year's event.

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"Les Oiseaux" - Simon Chevalier: This installation appears to mimic the movements of winged birds. It pays tribute to London's wildlife and species. The objects are a simple blacks and white colour showing the fleeting moment of flight.

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"Marbles" - Gertjan Adema: This sculpture appears like a giant marble and shows motion with audio. Unfortunately, this was not working when I visited and seemed to have some electric issues.

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"Elantica 'The Boulder'" - Tom&Lien Dekyver: This is a permanent installation that appeared last year and features a glowing boulder that mimics a computer or electronic chip. The natural element features a technology aspect to change reality and perception.

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"We Could Meet" - Martin Richman: This is a permanent sculpture that has appeared continuously in the list. Unfortunately, it was not lit this year.

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"The Peace Poem" - Emergency Exit and Robert Montgomery: There are two phrases to see, and these commemorate peace since 100 years of World War I. 

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"Captivated by Colour" - Camille Walala: This permanent piece covers the footbridge, and this year it was additionally illuminated by coloured lights, which increass the perception of the artwork for the festival. The artwork is focused on perception. 

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"Vessels" - Limbic Cinema: Science and technology and culture create these modern monuments that use lasers to create three-dimensional artworks in pyramids. The patterns created inside the pyramids constantly are changing and projecting.

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"Bilophlia" - Frankie Boyle: The patterns in this sculpture replicate the nervous system, which is sourced through the elemnts in nature. This is the bond of the human to the Earth. The lights continue along the tube and then join up together to create a gradual glow.

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"In-Between" - Daniel Popescu: Three cubes of light are situated together, and these define the boundaries of technology and nature. The cubes of light and blue with red glows.

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"Submergence" - Squidsoup: This sculpture appeared previously in Montgomery Square for Winter Lights a few years ago and was popular. It's an immersive one with sound and motion setting off the different patterns and colours of the reaction.

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"Kinetic Perspectives" - Juan Fuerentes: This sculpture uses motion and sound/music to depict the moving orbs of colour, and the geomtric patterns keep changing and adjusting. 

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"Geist" - This is Loop: This light installation is inspired by "Th Ghost Particle". The installation features an orb surrounded by lights, and the orb changes shape and pattern.

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"Idle Time" - Marcus Lyall: The installation is projected onto a building and features doodles of human figures being idle. Being idle is important to human nature and helps with well-being. The figures seem to interact or stand around.

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"Light Benches": Although not covered specifically this year, these glowing benches were part of the event for several years but have now become a staple and permanent artwork at Canary Wharf.

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"Bit.fall" - Julius Popp: This is on of the permanent light installations that uses water and news outlets to create cascading words using light and water.

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"The Clew" - Ottotto: This rd light tunnel helps to transform a foot-bridge walkway into something more unique.

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"The Wave of Light" - Those Guys Standing: This interactive installation shows 100 LED light sticks, and as visitors pass by them, the lights shown a little brighter due to the movement. This is a wave effect that is influenced by motion. The installation is held against the railings with the city lights in the background.

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"Shine Your Colors" - Tine Beach: This permanent installation of coloured panels has lights that glow onto them and encourages interaction. The artwork equally looks nice in sunshine.

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"Neuron" - Juan Fuerentes: This sculpture mimics the neuron connections in the brain. The sculpture has sound and movement of the LED sticks to create a three-dimension pattern effect with colour changes. It shows the neuron as an artistic being and ever-changing in pattern, shape, and colour.

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"Sign" - Vendel and De Wolf: Located in Westferry Circus, this installation reminded me of a flame or bonfire with an orange glow reaching to the sky in bright orange lights. 

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As always, Canary Wharf's "Winter Lights" hosts a couple of areas where visitors can get street food. This year, I opted for the Indian street food, and I had the paneer masala with rice and a delicious warming masala chai. 

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Previous years of Winter Lights can be seen below:

Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2023
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)

IlluminoCity Light Festival 2023

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IlluminoCity Light Festival taks place around the City of London at Brookfield Properties locations around Shoreditch High Street to Moorgate. This is its fifth year, and I'd previously explored the light festival in 2021. This year features two different light installations. One of these is located near Shoreditch High Street (Principal Place) and the other at Moorgate (Citypoint). The installations have been created by collective Architects of Happiness to help brighten moods during the wintery months.

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The first installation is "The Happy House" and includes a colourful lit-up house that can be explored with an accompanying soundscape created by Mathis Richet. The soundscape has to be played on an app on mobile phone, which is a shame, because it adds an immersive element if played on site. The soundscape sounds like laughing children playing with a soft drumming ambient tone which is uplifting and relaxing.

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Th second installation is "Beaming" and inspired by social media. It features different emoji icons that have been lit up in different colours. People are encouraged to take photographs with the emojis and smile. 

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IlluminoCity Light Festival takes place from the end of October until 27th of January.

Previous editions of IlluminoCity are below:

IlluminoCity Light Festival 2021

A few years ago, the Last Days of Shoreditch area was demolished. This was a notable place for street art and also hosted some pop ups. The little square was also famous for having one of Banksy's earliest artworks, which was hidden behind a board since 2007. When the Last Days of Shoreditch was demolished, the Banksy artwork was saved. The artwork now takes place hoisted into the air and above the entrance to the new hotel that now occupies the space.

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The Banksy artwork is forever immortalised in the structure of the new hotel.

The Luminaze is an installation by Emergency Exit Arts that has been sited at Wembly for a few weeks until early January. The installation is titled "We Love This Place" and uses energy-efficient neon lighting for artwork shaped as trees, living room furniture, and word art. The maze allows visitors to walk through to think about community and home. 

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In the centre of the maze is an hourglass, which has 3D projections onto it with a video and audio experience about community and belonging. Different speakers talk about why they love their community.

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The installation was in place until early January.

Sculpture in the City 2023

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The CIty of London has an annual sculpture trail known as Sculpture in the City. The sculptures are removed in May and  replaced in early summer, and they allow visitors to the City and workers to explore the artwork. The year 2023 marks the twelfth year of the sculptures, and many of the works you will see were also displayed in previous years. The sculptures are created by emerging and well-known sculptors and artists. This year features many that have already been on display with very few new pieces. The sculptures in this post can be seen until May of 2024.

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"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" - Rafael D'Alo

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"Muamba Groove" - Vanessa da Silva

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"Miss" - Emma Louise Moore

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"Nests Continued" - Victor Seward

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"Pacific Red" - Larry Bell

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"The Garden of Floating Words" - Elisa Artesero

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"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" - Rafael D'Alo

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"Summer Moon" - Ugo Rondinone

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"Rain Mountain Neo-lithic" - Isamu Noguchi

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"untitled: megaphone" - Phyllida Barlow

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"Pittu Pithu Pitoo" - Simeon Barclay

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"Untitled" - Arturo Herrera

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"We" - Emma Smith

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"Untitled Ceiling Projection" - Mika Rottenberg

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"Earthling" - Joeclyn McGregor

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"Habitat" - Pedro Pires

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"In Loving Memory" - Oliver Bragg

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"The Granary" - Jesse Pollock

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"Untitled" - Arturo Herrera

Previous years of London's Sculpture in the City are included below:

Whitecross Street Art 2022

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While looking through my photographs of street art, I came across a few from Whitecross Street street art that was painted in 2022. The artwork is on the side of a building and is difficult to photograph. The work features Mr. Doodle, Sam Peacock, Driper, and Onion.

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The image of the pigeon is created by Driper. On the left, it's Onion. The middle piece is Mr. Doodle, and the final piece is located on the right side in faded red and blue and is the work by Sam Peacock.

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The below artwork is from Vibes.

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The work can be found on Garrett street, off of Whitecross Street.

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