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.

Magical Lantern Festival 2017

It's always hard to beat the first time you see an amazing spectacle. This year's Chinese Lantern Festival seemed even bigger and grander. I had expected to see many of the same lanterns in advance. Not so. This is an almost entirely new lantern festival. The theme for this year's festival is 'Explore the Silk Road'.

What else is different? I really appreciated the explanations alongside each set of lanterns. They gave an insight into Chinese culture. Some of the symbols might otherwise have passed me by. For example, I learnt that the clouds in a lantern group of peonies, roses and magpies symbolise good luck and fortune. Butterfiles symbolise good fortune and best wishes. 

Bamboo in the hands of a panda means peace (right).

It was delightful to recognise some of the characters from the Chinese opera, The Peony Pavilion (below left). 


I also noted the Rooster lantern (right). The Chinese New Year starts on 28 January 2017 and ends on 15 February 2018. 2017 marks the Year of the Rooster. The Rooster is associated with good timekeeping.

The Houses of Parliament line the walk to the main entrance. I wouldn't have considered high-heeled shoes as depicting my culture. It was interesting to note how various European cultures blurred together. I suppose we have a similar tendency with Asian cultures. It's always interesting to be offered an different perspective on your own culture as well as learning about others. It challenges what you take for granted.

It was a bitterly cold night. You can see the ice in the water as you gaze at the reflections. 

The fires for toasting marshmallows at the halfway point offered a much appreciated chance to warm up.

Watch my video of the Magical Lantern Festival:

Magical Lantern Festival London from Karen Andrews on Vimeo.

According to knowledgeable visitors some of the Chinese wasn't quite right on the signs. There was the occasional, non-native awkwardness in the English. Did a British person translate and set the Chinese and a Chinese person the English? It in no way spoilt enjoyment of the evening. Visitors naturally want any translations to meet the same high standards as the spectacle.

I'm now looking forward to 2018 Magical Lantern Festival at London's Chiswick House. I hope that they include a shuttle service to and from the Underground next time.


Links to previous blogs:
2016 Chinese Lantern Festival
The Peony Pavilion

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.

Christmas Spectacle at Kew Gardens

The Christmas Light Trail at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew is spectacular. There is always another dazzling surprise ahead. Christmas at Kew has something to please all ages. 

Talking Christmas trees welcome you at the entrance.

The selective depiction of a well-known Christmas song was stunning. You can see the partridge in a pear tree with three French hens above. The Twelve Days of Christmas played as you admired the circles of lit torches. The torch fires were maintained with great attention.

Everyone stopped, stared, listened and admired the musical, tunnel of light. 

The candle lanterns glowed against the black, night sky.

Kew's Hive was transformed. The star of the 2015 Milan Expo now resembled a UFO...

... especially if you stood underneath the humming structure...

The botanical gardens appeared to have acquired some otherworldly plants too.

Long-standing residents were also bathed in a brand new coat of colourful light - including Kew's ancient pagoda tree believed to date back to 1760.

Kew's trees looked amazing even bathed in white light. I loved eerie quality of the tangled branches below. The permanent tree residents were very much part of the spectacular night-time show.

Kew's iconic palm house provided a spectacular finale. A light and laser show amazed the gathered audience. Familiar Christmas songs played out in the night air. The majestic Palm House displayed her colourful dance of light. It reflected right across the lake. Christmas presents, snowflakes and decorations twirled along her familiar glass structure. Beams of light searched out across the lake and up into the night sky.

Kew's iconic Palm House in her Christmas red and green colours

I haven't given away all the remarkable surprises. I doubt that you will find a better Christmas light display anywhere this year. Christmas at Kew is quite simply a must-see for all.

Links:

Christmas at Kew 

Twelve Days of Christmas

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

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

Casting Light on Urban Renewal

A return to a once familiar area can be a revelation. Last night I found myself in Bankside, London. In the 1990s, I would often find myself working in the office late into the evening. As a young woman, I found the late evening walk to the tube too dark, quiet and even unsafe.

Last night, I was amazed at the area's transformation. It really highlights what can be achieved with well-coordinated urban planning and renewal. Just look at the photos.

Colourful building with brightly-lit ground floor

The area has been filled with much brighter office buildings, a new retail area and wider pavements with clear visibility.

Blue Fin Building and retail outlets in Bankside

The old dark, hidden doorways are gone. The lights of shops and offices remain on even outside normal business hours casting light onto the pavements.

Uplighting, low-lighting and lit trees

Additional lighting has been added at various levels. I loved the uplighting of trees. Hedges are kept small and well-lit.

Low-lighting near NatWest Bank  and Bankside offices

The sign on the front of the Citizen M Hotel read 'Another World is Possible'. My experience was a complete contrast with my past memories of the area. It felt that I had stepped into a new world with a bright future.

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

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

French inspire Lumière London

London lit up...

... both with lights and smiling faces. 

London's first light festival fascinated both tourists and Londoners alike. The French-inspired Lumière London had everyone marvelling at light displays across the city. Even Sunday's early morning snow and a cold winter's night couldn't keep them off the streets.

I started my walk between light displays at Oxford Circus. It was great to be able to walk around Central London unimpeded by traffic. Sometimes progress was slow due to the sheer numbers out on the street - despite having all the road and pavements to walk on.

Normally if you lay down on your back in the middle of Oxford Circus, you can expect to be flattened by one or more double decker buses. Some spectators braved the cold road surface to get right underneath 1.8 London by Janet Echelman. The changing colours were glorious from any angle.

Light display hanging over Oxford Circus

Heading down Regent Street, I found my favourite musical light display, Keyframes. I loved the moving light figures on the front of Liberty House. This display was originally created by Groupe LAPS for the famous Fête des Lumières in Lyon, France.

Another Lyon creation appeared further down Regent Street and in Piccadilly. I found it fascinating to watch the movements of  Les Luminéoles. The fish floated and swooped above our heads, gradually changing colour. It was spectacular sight against the night sky in a very familiar street.

Further on down, there was another surprise... an enormous, noisy elephant. You could even see Catherine Garret's Elephantastic from the rear in Piccadilly. Eros and the lights in Piccadilly Circus aren't used to being upstaged by an elephant.

I struggled to make out the pictures on the more usual type of son et lumière in Piccadilly. When I reached St James Square, my smartphone went on strike. It refused point blank to take any more photos in front of Chatham House. It would not be coaxed back into action.

Sea of plastic in Trafalgar Square fountain

                                                                         

By Trafalgar Square, I realised that I could use my iPad camera instead. There were plastic bottles floating in the fountains. I preferred my native city's illustration of the perils of plastic in our oceans. I saw the Bristol Whales lit up at night last year. By 2050, the seas will contain more plastic than fish.

Bristol Whales at night

Highlighting plastic in our oceans

 

The Neon Dogs on The Strand were so popular that it took quite a while to get to the front. The brightly-lit dogs even had a few neon bones.

A longer walk took me to Westminster. It was amazing to see the familiar façade of Westminster Abbey displayed so differently. The lights picked out all the statues really well. 

Spectacularly lit Westminster Abbey

Next stop was Leicester Square. Here I found Shakespeare surrounded by a garden of light. 2016 marks the 400th Anniversary of his death. 

Shakespeare's statue in the middle of Leicester Square, London

The cinemas in front and to his left displayed Star Wars and The Hateful Eight. I wondered what he would have thought of such modern entertainments.

Shakespeare's view of Star Wars in Leicester Square

My last stop was in front a brightly-lit ballgown. As one bystander commented, it was a bit see-through to actually be worn.

Brightly lit ballgown with changing colours

It was well short of midnight. After such a fairytale night, this Cinderella's feet were aching. So she headed home. By tube, not pumpkin. 

Creativity and Light in Chihuly's Lumière Exhibition

I first saw Dale Chihuly's amazingly innovative glass creations at his exhibition in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 2005. I recently discovered another highly creative Chihuly exhibition in London.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Gardens is one of my favourite places to visit. I have spent many happy hours there with my family and friends over the years. Chihuly's creations within such very familiar settings had unexpected appeal. As you walked through the grounds and the glasshouses, there were so many surprises among the plants - and even in the lake (see above).

I instantly loved the American artist's contemporary, intricate designs. They are very colourful. I particularly remember his bright yellow "Sun" with its enormous glass "squiggles". I have never seen anything so original in glass. Chihuly's chosen medium has a particularly strong appeal with its transparent, luminous and reflective qualities. I still have a strong memory of this unique exhibition from 10 years ago.

London's New Bond Street
On my way to the Chinese Whispers exhibition featured in earlier blogs, a glow ahead caught my attention in the fading evening light. The glowing light came from the windows of the Halcyon Gallery in New Bond Street. Chihuly's creativity had drawn me in again.

Glowing window from Chihuly's acrylic light painting

Lumière Exhibition

The art gallery was holding an exhibition of Chihuly's sculptures and acrylic light drawings. This time, the light paintings caught my particular attention. My favourites used a mixture of extremely bright colours. The exhibition was entitled Lumière after the French word for "light". Lumière also conjures up the Age of Enlightenment in French philosophy and the early French filmmakers, the Lumière brothers. Thus, the title conveys both light and a sense of groundbreaking vision.

I later discovered from an online video how the pictures and sculptures were made. The acrylic paintings are lit from behind in light boxes as well as from the front. This light adds even greater intensity to the colours.

I was surprised to learn that Chihuly works with a glassblowing team. The glassblowers bring the creative vision into being under his enthusiastic supervision. There is no doubt that Chihuly is the innovator and visionary.

Such abstract designs and bright colours may not be to everyone's taste. It can take some time to adjust and appreciate the creativity. Historically, the work of master artists and great innovators has not always been appreciated in their lifetime. Chihuly is certainly a unique artist.

Lumière is a very appropriate title for this exhibition for 3 reasons:

1. It uses light creatively

2. It is the work of a leading and groundbreaking artistic "light"

3. 2015 is the UN/UNESCO International Year of Light

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What can blogs learn from Rembrandt?

Anglicity continues the recent blog and art themes. Two pictures particularly captured my attention at London's National Gallery recently. Both were Rembrandts: just two portraits of old age cast in a warm light. What can modern-day blogs learn from Rembrandt?

The traditional press release has been done to death. Everyone knows the formula: a few paragraphs and a quote or two. Every company tries to get its flattering viewpoint across. Spin results. Journalists become cynical. Their editors need to sell papers. Cue exaggeration and sensationalism. Research scientists complain*. The merits of human creative translation go ignored. The world is fascinated with the latest technology. It glosses over any imperfections and social concerns.

Many have turned to blogs to get their viewpoints across to the Media and public. How do you stand out? After subprime mortgages and the financial crisis, the public is suspicious. Spin makes readers switch off. Honesty works best.

Rembrandt's pictures expose the cares and wrinkles of old age. The light is warm and kind. It is possible to tackle difficult issues in blogs. The warmth of a true and honest portrait or story can shine through. Much like the warm light in a Rembrandt.

* See Anglicity's Robotics in the Media

Karen Andrews runs
Anglicity Ltd. She is
an entrepreneurial
content writer and
marketing consultant.

Contact

karen@anglicity.com 
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