Lumiere Festival London 2016

Sitting in the drawing room couch on a weekend (we had nowhere to go as 2 major tube lines were cut off 2 days for maintenance), my friend suddenly got reminded of the Lumiere Festival. Browsing a bit online, I was sure, I wanted to go. However that would mean, travelling by bus in traffic to reach a different tube line station! Anyways, I was too tempted to go (thanks to instagram), despite the trouble...
So, Lumiere London is an event organized by Artichoke with the support of the Mayor of London. Its a Street Light Festival where ordinary cityscapes are transformed to works of art! This happened in 4 areas in London and I visited 2 of those - Piccadilly & Westminster.


Here are the works of art that I loved the most. My most favourite was Keyframes by France based, Groupe LAPS. This was a series of stick men is various postures made of LED lights. That's normal, what was amazing was that they were lighted in various orders, that created a very animated effect, all in a huge scale on the entire face of a the Liberty House near Regent Street! It was just awesome. Its looks like notebook animation, but the very fact that its all light and the sheer size of it, is spectacular.

The next 2 big favourites were Les Voyageurs (The Travellers) by Cedric Le Borgne at the St James and Dresses by Tae Gon Kim at Liberty Dept Store window display. Les Voyageurs is a set of few human anatomically correct sculptures made of light in various postures in various locations, some flying in air, some seated atop nearby building, some hanging from trees etc. The outer mesh is made of just chicken wire, but with the lighting, it comes to life!
With fiber optics and LED lights that keep the color changing, I'm pretty sure the gowns would sooner or later become a choice for brides! Check it out in the video above!
2 other installations that I liked were 195 Piccadelly by NOVAC and Luminéoles by Porté par le vent. 195 Picadelly is a series of images from BAFTA's archive about the various genre of Cinema & Television. The images looks like water color splashes and paintings accompanied by sound. Though digital, this was one spectacular show. Check this too in the video above.

Lumineoles look like tadpoles, but just too big. Along with huge illuminated flowers on the road these were operated by personnel. The concept was pretty much of huge balloons or kites.

Here are some more that I saw there. Elephantastic in Oxford Street, was a projection of an animated elephant complete with south and dust effect! Shaida Walking in Broadwick Street, was again a digital display on a LED panel in a pedestrian path which is an animation in loop that looks like a person walking!
1.8 London is an installation made of fishing net, so huge that its hung from buildings across the road at Oxford Circus. Its inspired by the NASA imageries of the 2011 Japanese Tsunami. From 4 sides, lights were projected onto the net that was already moving in the wind, bringing a surreal feel to it. 
The 3m tall Centre Point lights, were brought down from the Centre Point building to be at the Trafalgar Square for the festival. Plastic island was a ring of plastic bottles floating at the fountain at Trafalgar Square. Neon dogs looks like the balloon dogs made for children, but here made of glass illuminated with neon!
The major streets were shut for vehicles and the lights from the commercial buildings were controlled! To go in line with the festival, some of the shopkeepers there also had some fabulous lighting in the smaller lanes!!

Dedicated to Venkat & Conrad

Bhushavali

An ardent traveler by passion. Being an ex - Art History Teacher, my area of interest especially lies in Nature and Heritage. Visited 85 UNESCO World Heritage sites as of June 2022. I've been listed among the Top 7 Women Travel Bloggers of India, Top 50 in UK. I have been interviewed in a couple of TV Shows, Radio Channels and Events as well. Read more about me and read the testimonials of different brands

23 comments:

  1. Wow! Stick men is various postures, Elephantastic in Oxford Street, and Glass illuminated with neon look very interesting.

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  2. Oh my God. I wish I had been there. I'm fascinated by the artistic applications of light!

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  3. That's amazing and magical! I haven't heard of the Lumiere Festival. But I would sure love to see it someday!

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  4. Oh this looks so beautiful. Oh how I would love to see this one day. These are great works of art for sure.

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  5. What a beautiful festival. I'd love to experience this firsthand. I love all the creativity and art involved. Great pics and post. Thanks for sharing. I'll keep this in mind for future reference. Keep it up!

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  6. Looks good! We ave something similar in Austin and it's called the Trail of Lights! Will share a post with you when it happens this year!

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  7. Absolutely astonishing! The lights and everything is so amazing. Thanks so much for sharing, because it is my first time to know that there is a Lumiere Festival in London.

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  8. Wow! That is very stunning. I didn't know London has this kind of festival. I wish I'm there to witness this in person.

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  9. What a wonderful festival! I don't think I have heard of anything that would rival it. Those lighted stick men are fabulous! I would watch them for hours.

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  10. They look spectacular! Lights of different colors, shapes and techniques! I would love to experience this festival, too.

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  11. Stunning art in lights! I hope to witness it personally someday.

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  12. The lightshow is amazing. You get to see splendid light display on regular structure. This would really be fun to watch.

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  13. The illuminated gowns look sooooo pretty, it would be perfect for a bride having ceremonies in the evening!

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  14. Wow this is spectacular! I wish that I can visit London next year for this festival. So many happenings around the world.

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  15. I would to see this for myself! Such a gorgeous festival of lights :D

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  16. definitely loving the light arts. <3 the people behind it are so artistic and creative.

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  17. So many things to do n see in London! My kids love this city...Hope to visit it soon.. Loved ur post :)

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  18. Everything looked so good! An art exhibit outdoors better seen in the dark. I'm sure I would enjoy being there with my family. Looks like a fascinating exhibit.

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  19. i was in london when this was on and it was beautiful! i walked everywhere in london and stumbled on the lights. even if i was freezing ha

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  20. sounds cool and colorful light festival!

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  21. I watched the dress video. It looked whimsical and enchanted. I have not been to a light festival yet but Lumiere London sounds like that it is the largest. I can imagine this dress in a fairy tale movie or in theatre.

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