Create London

✨ Announcing “Decades” by Louise Giovanelli ✨Opening 19 November 2025 at Strand Aldwych.

Create London and Westminster City Council present Decades, a major new public artwork by acclaimed artist Louise Giovanelli @louise___giovanelli , transforming St Mary le Strand Church into a shimmering, sculptural illusion.

Responding to James Gibb’s iconic St Mary le Strand Church, the large-scale, site-specific work will cover the south-facing façade in a composite image of a draped curtain, producing a sculptural trompe-l'œil form. By revealing details of the alternating colour patterns of the columns, while also covering up areas with fabric, Giovanelli uses different types of translucency to both eclipse and reframe architectural elements while embedding the church at the core of the artwork.

Referencing both the theatrical history of the Strand and the church’s Baroque heritage, the work invites viewers to look closer, revealing subtle traces of decades, pollution and restoration in the building’s surface. By day, "Decades" reframes this architectural jewel within the modern city; by night, it glows, turning the church into a stage of light, history and transformation.

📍 St Mary le Strand Church @stmarylestrand , Strand Aldwych
🗓 19 Nov 2025-18 Jan 2026
💬 Free & open to all

Commissioned by Create London for Westminster City Council @citywestminster, with support from London Heritage Quarter @londonheritagequarter, Liberty @libertylondon, and White Cube @whitecube, and developed in collaboration with David Chipperfield Architects @davidchipperfieldarchitects .

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Render by Richard Henley @richard__henley