Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival

At the London Art Fair I heard that Europeans (especially the French) consider that the British art scene is somewhat conservative. On Sunday night I went to see the Winter Lights Festival in London's Canary Wharf. I was amazed at this very modern and innovative show. Armed with the downloaded map on my iPad, I toured around the various light artworks.

The first artwork that I saw was Bit.Fall. Words cascade down one by one from a Times Newspaper feed. I  saw 'France' fall in watery light and captured it on my Vimeo video below.

Angels of Freedom by Israel's Ove Collective was among the most popular sections of the walk. People queued enthusiastically to have their pictures taken with angel wings and a halo over their heads. I kept expecting to see Nicholas Cage sitting on top of one of the Canary Wharf Towers as in the film City of Angels.

There was also a long queue to go inside the huge, egg-shaped light installation. Ovo came from Belgium. (Again you can see it in action on my video below).

Some of the best light installation were in and around the Crossrail building. The American Water Wall and Danish Cathedral of Mirrors were highly innovative with unusual light displays and 'music'. Both are best enjoyed on the video.

The Crossrail Roof Gardens revealed yet more innovative works. There was even one made from recycled plastic bottles by schoolchildren with a British light artist.

Liter of Light by Mick Stephenson and schoolchildren

The most innovative works were inside the Crossrail Place building down on floor -3. I nearly missed them all as I couldn't initially work out where the entrance was. I'm glad that I persevered. These works are really best viewed on the video. A number of them were interactive, changing according to the actions of the people in the room.


Canary Wharf's Winter Lights Festival, London - January 2017 from Karen Andrews on Vimeo.

By far the most interesting, involved waiting in a long queue. It was a British/Australian interactive light sculpture. One man was asked to wear an EEG headset. The lights and music changed according to his brain waves and levels of concentration. I have put that section into its own separate video so that you can enjoy it in full, even if you don't get a chance to head to Crossrail Place at Canary Wharf in person. You can find further details on each light installation on the Canary Wharf website.

Judging by the enthusiasm of the crowds on a bitterly cold night in Canary Wharf, the British aren't so conservative after all in their art appreciation. Nor are British artists unwilling to experiment with new techniques.

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in global marketing.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

Dancing on ice

Somerset House's ice rink in a purple/blue light

It is much easier it is to explain or bring an idea life by using images from another field. Innovation on ice leads to reflections on translation innovations.

I grew up watching British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. No Brit could forget their artistic performance or their perfect scores at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics. The British gold medallists were highly innovative in their day.

Judged against my past experiences, the young Canadian ice skaters of Le Patin Libre caught me by surprise. There were no lifts. Few jumps. No fancy costumes. Few artistic flourishes.

The four skaters stayed largely upright as in their Vertical title. They looked like four pillars dancing separately in formation.

The music and light seemed stark. You could hear the sound of their blades cutting into the ice.It formed a deliberate and integral part of their performance.

Some of the movements were decidedly angular and unorthodox. They even dug their exposed blades into the ice at diagonals.

The ice dance rulebook had been thrown away. What would the traditional Olympic ice dance judges make of this?

And yet... my eyes focused on the movement of the skates. I traced their weaving and circular patterns on the ice. I marvelled at the technical mastery.

No star
There was no star. All four skated as a group. There was the occasional solo. It was not an opportunity to show off. Not a cameo. Each solo remained part of, and in keeping with, the group performance.

Even the female member of the group was not there to be pretty on the eye. She was dressed in the same casual, street dance style as the men. She had earned her place in the team as a technical and athletic equal.

Technical mastery
I watched the performance as transfixed as I had Torvill and Dean in the past. It was different. Innovative. It seemed raw at first. On closer inspection, it was masterful. Or, as one member of the the audience remarked: awesome.

Somerset House trailer for Le Patin Libre:

Translation innovation
When something new bursts onto the scene, we naturally tend to judge it by past experiences, rulebooks and standards. Technology is disrupting the translation industry in a similar way. Tomorrow's translators can expect to work together as a group on large projects. The edges may look raw at first sight. On closer inspection and with greater familiarity, we recognise a new form of professional mastery.

On Round Tables

Round table artwork in modern art gallery at Beaubourg

A wall of neon signs flash "open" in numerous languages as you enter the main modern art gallery at the Centre Georges Pompidou. There is a large, round wooden table just inside the entrance. Round tables hold an important place in open negotiations and in international peace.

Neon "open" signs in different languages at gallery entrance

Furniture as artwork

The unusual table drew this carpenter's daughter in for a closer look. Furniture presented as artwork is perhaps more unexpected to others. The round table concept is also very familiar to me. I grew up near Glastonbury in Somerset. Glastonbury is reputed to be King Arthur's legendary Avalon. The idea of a round table is that it can have no head. There is a no preferential seating order, because there is no head of the table to sit near. Everyone seated at a round table is considered an equal.

Round table trend

I have attended a number of events using the round table format during the past year. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) used it at the London Language Show in late 2014. The same format was used successfully by UKTI at their recent Big Data event in Paris. It was also used at the FinTech Assembly in London in late February 2015.

Advantages

The advantage of the round table approach is that everyone gets an opportunity to speak. Less confident participants can feel more comfortable to speak in the more informal setting. You are also more likely to identify the right potential partners for your business. The approach lends itself to better networking and after event follow-ups.

Round table artwork

The table in the modern art gallery is elevated from the floor. Maybe this signifies that it is intended for those in elevated positions? There are words carved into table's centre. With my feet firmly on the floor as an ordinary citizen, I couldn't get the necessary height to read them. It seemed odd that the chairs were embedded in the table. I couldn't find any explanation of the piece. Nor could I find details on its maker. I noticed that the chairs at the table were not all the same. Not equal. Some were larger and stronger than others. Some seemed slightly crooked. One looked as if it might crack under any weight.

Equal?

Even if seated at a round table, all parties in a negotiation are rarely equal. In international negotiations, the more dominant personalities and stronger nations should allow alternative views to be heard.

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
French to English
translator, editor,
content writer and
marketing consultant. 

Contact: karen@anglicity.com 
for further information 
on Anglicity's services.