SPARK London
26 – 27 August 9pm till 11pm, free entrance
The Queens House Lawns
SE10 9JH
On August 26th and 27th on the opening weekend of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival 2022 (GDIF), Dutch artist and innovator Daan Roosegaarde will unleash SPARK. Drawing on 21st century environmentally sustainable technology, SPARK promises to inspire audiences in 2022, whilst creating connections with local heritage.
An organic firework performance that uses thousands of biodegradable lights that organically float through the air, SPARK rises to a height of 50 metres and will be visible for miles around. Rising and falling on natural air currents, SPARK is visual poetry in motion, purposefully designed to invoke feelings of interconnectedness between humans and nature. It also provides a sustainable alternative for communal celebrations that want to harness the visual power of light whether in the context of events such as the Olympic Ceremonies, New Year’s Eve or Bonfire Night.
SPARK is inspired by the magical lights of fireflies, flocks of birds and galaxies of stars, SPARK’s creator Roosegaarde invites Londoners to lie back on cushions and blankets to witness the majestic rise of SPARK through the night skies above.
“We want to cherish traditions but we need to keep modernising them to be relevant,” Daan added. “To show contemporary organic fireworks in this historical context is a true honour and shows the beauty of a new, sustainable celebration.” The man behind the project, Roosegaarde is no stranger to creating international headlines through his work, profiled by the likes of Wired, Dezeen, the Guardian.
His Smog Free Project uses seven-metre-high towers to hoover air from inner cities and create diamonds from collected carbon, is currently being used in urban parks across China. Urban Sun, which will feature at the upcoming Solar Biennale, uses safe far-UVC 222nm light to clean public spaces of the coronavirus. In Seeing Stars he will collaborate with the Dutch city of Leiden on 25 September 2022 to turn off its city lights, unveiling the majesty of the skies above and reiterating the need for human connection with our natural universe.
Festival-goers will be able to enjoy SPARK at GDIF, London’s annual free festival of art, theatre, dance and circus that transforms public spaces across Greenwich and East London for 18 extraordinary days of FREE events between 26 August through to 11 September.
Speaking about why he chose SPARK to open GDIF, GDIF’s Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings MBE explained: “GDIF has always set out to reflect the evolving story of Greenwich and East London and large scale spectacle has always been part of this. I’m therefore hugely honoured that Daan Roosegaarde’s SPARK will receive its UK premiere at GDIF, reminding us of the importance of our connection with the natural world, and the power of awe and wonder to bring us together”.
©2022 Daan Roosegaarde
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