Winter Lights At Canary Wharf

I was in Canary Wharf for some business when I encountered the Winter Lights event. I had no idea this happened since I left work in this area over a decade ago. Winter Lights is a free, annual festival held in Canary Wharf, London, during January. This year. It usually starts at 5pm and closes at 10pm, but they had to close it at 8pm due to Hurricane Isha.

Talking of hurricanes, it was wild to be in Canary Wharf during a storm. The sound is just different with all the towers channeling the wind, bouncing and echoing sounds all over the place. The clouds and moon also took on a dark essence, especially reflected as they were in the large glassy sids of the buildings.

The festival features a variety of light installations created by international artists, showcasing the intersection of nature and technology. Some of the installations I saw were;

• The Clew: A large red circle made of 100 lights, framing the Cubitt Steps Bridge.
• Luminaries: A cascade of falling water droplets that create words derived from live news sources.
• Lightbenches: Classic illuminated benches.
• Traffic Light Tree: A tree covered in traffic lights that change colour.
• Prisms of Light in the Big Easy (my favourite one)

By 7pm it the storm getting pretty violent and I actually became a little worried so I decided to head home. Imagine glass raining down on people below if something where to happen. My imagination got the better of me haha.

Peace & Love,

Adé