…from sunset at Blackfriars Bridge to night-time at Lambeth Bridge, past Illuminated River’s latest light installations.
Spring 2021 saw the second stage of Illuminated River’s marvellous public art installation: the lighting of Blackfriars, Waterloo, the Golden Jubilee footbridges, Westminster and Lambeth Bridges designed by Leo Villareal. They join London, Canon Street Railway, Southwark and Millennium Bridges, illuminated in the summer of 2019. A walk along the river Thames at nightfall is a magical experience as riverside buildings begin to light up, sprinkling glitter, shimmering on the surface of the water. Here I follow a small section of the Thames Path from Blackfriars Bridge upstream to Lambeth Bridge, looking at the newest installations, where the experience of oncoming darkness is further heightened by the gradual illumination and subtle evolution of the lighting on the bridges along the way.
From nightfall you can see the Thames as a kaleidoscope of liquid colour, with infinite, ever-changing reflections shifted by the constant movement of ebbing and flowing tides, wash waves from passing boats, and gusts of wind. But at 2.00 am, the lights fade, the bridges darken and the river returns to its more restful natural state…
Further Information
Article in the Financial Times by Edwin Heathcote, February 10, 2021
Article in the Guardian by Rowan Moore, April 11, 2021
The Illuminated River Project
The Illuminated River Art Trail