Today, as we mark the Winter Solstice, why not take a walk through the wintertime phases of the sun and moon at Wembley Park?

One of seven new installations included in the new ‘Winter’s Wander’ art exhibition, part of the free-to-attend Wembley Park Art Trail, A Guiding Light, depicts the 12 hours of the moon rising and 12 hours of the sun setting, taking visitors on a walk through the wintertime phases of the sun and moon.

A Guiding Light by Louisa Smurthwaite & Douglas Green

As visitors arrive on iconic Olympic Way, they are welcomed by the majestic figure of A Guiding Light. The sequential artwork is spread across 34, 7-metre-tall banners, against the backdrop of the Wembley Stadium arch. The artwork across the banners is supported by projections of a star field on the ground below.

A Guiding Light has been created by light artists Douglas Green and Louisa Smurthwaite who previously collaborated with musicians including Kylie Minogue, Lorde, Florence and the Machine and Jarvis Cocker.

All the images were hand drawn by Douglas, who started with photographs of the sun and moon before bringing in influences from the Northern Lights and the constellations. At the heart of the A Guiding Light experience is mankind’s obsession with the night sky.

“We look to the night sky for inspiration, for guidance and for navigation, while the constellations and the zodiac are important to many diverse individuals around the world. Some see their ancestors as stars. It was an incredible opportunity to have such a large canvas to work with.”

Douglas Green, Artist

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Guiding Lights Bridge by Sian Bliss

A Guiding Light is complemented by The Guiding Lights Bridge, an immersive light installation by multimedia artist Sian Bliss.

Displayed across two 15-metre-wide digital screens, soffit, and illuminated side walls of the Bobby Moore Bridge, as well as six giant digital totems across the neighbourhood, the artwork takes inspiration from the images produced by the most powerful space telescope ever built, NASA’s James Webb Telescope, showing some of the universe’s first galaxies, and reminding us of the most fundamental questions that remain unanswered.

A Guiding Light and The Guiding Lights Bridge, along with the other five ‘Winter’s Wander’ installations will be on display until 28th February 2023 across the Wembley Park neighbourhood, just 12 minutes from central London.