Louise Giovanelli’s Decades opens on November 19, 2025, at St Mary-le-Strand Church, Strand Aldwych, London (UK). The major new public artwork transforms James Gibb’s iconic Baroque church into a shimmering, sculptural illusion. Covering the south-facing façade with a composite image of a draped curtain, Giovanelli’s site-specific installation creates a trompe-l'œil that both conceals and reveals the building beneath.
Through shifting layers of translucency, Decades reframes the church’s architectural details, embedding its surfaces—and their traces of time, pollution, and restoration—within the work itself. Drawing on the theatrical heritage of the Strand, Giovanelli turns the church into a stage where light, history, and transformation converge. By day, the piece reimagines this historic landmark within the modern city; by night, it glows, alive with quiet drama.
Decades will be on view from November 19, 2025 until January 18, 2026, at St Mary-le-Strand Church, Strand Aldwych, London (UK).
The work was commissioned by Create London for Westminster City Council, with support from London Heritage Quarter, Liberty, and White Cube Gallery, and developed in collaboration with David Chipperfield Architects.
