A global field guide to design, (life)style and secret finds est. 2007
Wee find: Charles Pétillon’s Balloons in Covent Garden
Ever wondered what 100,000 balloons en masse look like? French artist Charles Pétillon gives us the incredible visual answer in London’s Covent Garden, which he’s filled with giant white balloons for his first public art installation.
The ambitious live work is a first for Pétillon outside of France, and he’s used the balloons to transform Covent Garden’s 19th Century market building into a large-scale metaphor titled ‘Heartbeat’.
Heartbeat stretches 54 metres in length and 12 metres in width, and incorporates gentle pulsating white light to symbolise the beating of a heart and reflect the history, energy and dynamism of the district.
“The balloon invasions I create are metaphors,” explains Pétillon. “Their goal is to change the way in which we see the things we live alongside each day without really noticing them. With Heartbeat I wanted to represent the Market Building as the beating heart of this area – connecting its past with the present day to allow visitors to re-examine its role at the heart of London’s life.
“Each balloon has its own dimensions and yet is part of a giant but fragile composition that creates a floating cloud above the energy of the market below. This fragility is represented by contrasting materials and also the whiteness of the balloons that move and pulse appearing as alive and vibrant as the area itself.”
Ever wondered what 100,000 balloons en masse look like? French artist Charles Pétillon gives us the incredible visual answer in London’s Covent Garden, which he’s filled with giant white balloons for his first public art installation.
