Stepping Inside Light: Luxart Arrives at Battersea Power Station

Along the banks of the River Thames, beneath the towering chimneys of Battersea Power Station, a new temporary installation is set to transform Power Station Park into something dreamlike. From 23rd – 31st May 2026, Luxart, by artist Alan Parkinson of Architects of Air, will invite visitors into a monumental world of colour, light, and immersive architecture: a luminous landscape designed not simply to be viewed but experienced from within.

For a city that is often defined by noise, movement, and momentum, Luxart offers something quieter and more contemplative. It is an artwork that encourages visitors to slow down, remove themselves from the pace of London outside, and step into an environment shaped entirely by atmosphere and sensation.

Photography: Charlie Round Turner

Known internationally for his inflatable luminarium structures, Alan Parkinson has spent decades creating immersive installations that blur the line between sculpture, architecture, and sensory experience. Rather than presenting art as a static object on a wall, his work envelops the visitor. Space becomes fluid, colour becomes architectural, and light itself becomes the material.

Designed specifically for Battersea Power Station, Luxart unfolds as a sequence of interconnected domes and chambers, each with its own distinct mood and identity. Visitors move gradually through the installation, journeying from one luminous environment to another as colours shift across curved translucent surfaces overhead.

Inside the Green Dome, the atmosphere is calming and meditative, awash with soft filtered tones that feel almost cathedral-like in their stillness. Elsewhere, the Red Tree chamber introduces a more dramatic and theatrical energy, while the spiralling Blue Helix Dome creates a sense of movement and spatial distortion, encouraging visitors to pause and look upward as light refracts across the structure’s inflated surfaces.

At the centre lies the Cupola, described as the installation’s spectacular focal point. Here, colour, scale, and geometry converge beneath a soaring canopy of illuminated forms, creating a space that feels simultaneously intimate and monumental. It is likely to become one of London’s most visually striking cultural experiences this spring; a temporary architecture of light unfolding against the industrial backdrop of one of the capital’s most recognisable landmarks.

What makes Luxart particularly compelling is the way it alters perception. As sunlight moves across the day, the installation transforms with it. Colours deepen, soften, and shift naturally with the weather and time, so no two visits are entirely the same. It is an artwork shaped as much by the external environment as by its own internal design.

That relationship between light and architecture feels especially resonant at Battersea Power Station itself. Once a symbol of Britain’s industrial power, the restored landmark has increasingly become one of London’s most active cultural destinations, hosting installations, events, and public programming that reconnect the historic site with the surrounding city. Luxart continues that evolution, temporarily softening the monumental scale and hard geometry of the power station through something ephemeral, playful, and immersive.

There is also something refreshingly universal about the experience. Unlike many gallery-based exhibitions, Luxart does not require interpretation or explanation. It appeals instinctively and emotionally. Children and adults alike are drawn into its spaces through curiosity, colour, and atmosphere rather than narrative alone. The installation invites exploration in the purest sense, encouraging visitors to wander, observe, and experience the environment at their own pace.

Increasingly, immersive installations have become central to conversations around contemporary public art, but few manage to balance spectacle with genuine emotional resonance. Luxart appears to achieve both. While visually striking enough to captivate social media audiences, it also offers moments of genuine calm and reflection, something that feels increasingly valuable within urban life.

Set against the Thames and framed by the iconic silhouette of Battersea Power Station, the installation promises to become one of the city’s standout cultural moments of the season. Temporary by nature yet deeply atmospheric, Luxartreminds us of the power of art not simply to decorate space, but to completely transform how we experience it.

For just over a week this May, Londoners will have the opportunity to step inside light itself.

Luxart will take place at Battersea Power Station from 23rd – 31st May 2026. Tickets are priced at £10 per person, with additional programming and events inside the installation set to be announced.