Artist discovers the unusual in the usual

n oasis of tranquillity has crept into Canada Place Mall. The Window Gallery between Waitrose and the Jubilee line entrance is showing a series of beautiful light boxes by artist Marco Bettoni.
Marco, who is originally from Bergamo in Northern Italy and came to England in 1993 to study for an MA at Camberwell College of Art, said: "I transform the frenetic urban pace into a kind of meditation. A kind of calm stillness.
"I wanted to present this work in Canary Wharf because it is so busy here. The idea is that you stop and relax in front of my work."
Despite exhibiting all over the world, largely in the Italy and the UK, this is the first solo show he has taken to a shopping centre.
The light boxes are inspired by a trip to Tokyo. While there, Marco read Roland Barthes' Empire Of Signs, written by the French philosopher after his own trip to Japan. The text encouraged Marco to examine the city in a different way.
He photographed a wide range of urban life in the city and found himself particularly drawn to taxi signs.
He said: "I discover the unusual thing in the usual. My work is not about taxis, I just like the taxi signs.
"I isolate them from the noisy traffic. In this work movement is absent, traffic is silenced."
His work is displayed in an installation created for the Canary Wharf space. Mounted in an uneven line against a black backdrop, the photographs are intended to give the impression of lights floating against a night sky.
Marco said: "You could say it is a contemporary interpretation of traditional lanterns."
Louisa Emery
n Marco Bettoni, Canada Place Mall, to Feb 26, FREE, 020 7477 1477, mycanarywharf.com, DLR & Jubilee: Canary Wharf