For a few days at the end of October the Hindu festival of Diwali brought some peace and positivity to the plate glass commercialism of Canary Wharf. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Diwali represents the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance, and is famous for its abundance of candles and floral decorations.
At Canary Wharf the ‘candles’ were in fact LED lights, surrounded by flowers that floated on the water in a display commissioned by the Canary Wharf Group from Richard Bragg of RB Floral Design. Bragg’s work was inspired by the Indian artwork of Rangoli, in which powdered paints are used to create colourful patters.