River of Light 2021 - Liverpool

River of Light is an outdoor experience in Liverpool presenting illuminated sculptures and installations across the city. It is held for two weeks in March and April every year. The name 'River of Light' may be somewhat misleading - there is rather little light on the river Mersey itself.

This year theme was 'utilising culture for our ongoing recovery and regeneration', referring to the covid lockdowns and hardship many people had experienced.

From the opening of the event, the visitors literally flooded the installation, and it was impossible to stick to all the rules of physical distancing. However, officially the opening was postponed over the weekend due to high winds. 

 

There were eleven audio and visual installations, by local, national and international artists. We visited all of them and below is the showcase.

St. Nicholas parish church gardens with the view over Royal Liverpool building are traditionally the place for various artworks. We started there, at the announced 6 p.m. hour but of course it was still early, too bright for the illumination. We came back at the end of our tour - that took some 2 km (1.2 mile) - to see the Moon.

A the waterfront there was the Futures installation, glittering poles with soothing music. The first time it was riveting experience. When we came back later, there were so many people walking thorough the passage and talking so loud that the music could not had been enjoyed at all. 

Further down on waterfront, in Canning Dock Quayside there was Rainbow Bridge, made of over 25,000 LED lights.

The Dock Traffic Office building was surrounded by impressive in size butterflies and flowers. The name was All in Balance.

In front of the Salthouse Dock, overlooking the Royal Albert Dock warehouses

was Absorbed by Light sculpture of people sitting next to each other on three benches and all being absorbed by their smartphones. The meaning quite straightforward. It was interactive - you could sit down and take a photo.  

Crossing the Strand on Liverpool One water Fountain were two huuuge heads facing each other. The Talking Heads made the most powerful impression so far. All of the installations were very interesting but this one was simply stunning. 

 

End Over End was installed on the path leading to Liverpool One shopping galleries wit rainbow-like display of colour on the giant spiral.

Exponential, perhaps referring to the widely used word 'exponential' during the pandemic, was up the stairs in the Chavasse Park grounds. An illuminated square within the square. It gave a feeling of eerie technological romanticism.

Back to the city centre, on the old Castle Street there was a washing line with illuminated laundry. The Neighbourhood represented communities and people of different backgrounds living together harmoniously. 

This project was somewhat prophetic in a quirky way. It was the time when washing Joe Anderson's the city mayor and the Liverpool council, dirty laundry in public was taking place on national television. The laundry was just up the Liverpool Town Hall.

We finished our walk back at the waterfront. There was Light a Wish installation over the entry to Liverpool and Leeds canal. It was made of two metre high sort-of dandelions floating over. With an intention to symbolise the hopes and dreams of Liverpool and everyone who lives here. Honestly, saying it was least interesting, however we did appreciate the vast amount of work that had to be put into the installation.

River of Light was a superb experience. It brought a different dimension to everyday life and allowed to experience the city in a completely different way. This is one of the reasons why living in the city can be so enthralling. Thank you to the organisers and artists for their immense effort.

 Below - River of Light - Autumn 2021: