Covent Garden is now full of 100,000 white balloons, as part of an art installation by the French artist Charles Pétillon.

The balloons, which are all individually sized, took 25 people five nights to blow up to size. Throughout yesterday and today, they were guided into place in the Grade II listed South Hall. They mark the first time Mr Pétillon has publically displayed his work outside of France. 

The artwork will officially be open from August 27 and will stay in place for a month, before being dismantled.

Pulses of light will run through the project, which is called Heartbeat. Mr Pétillon said: “With Heartbeat I wanted to represent the Market Building as the beating heart of this area – connecting its past with the present day to allow visitors to re-examine its role at the heart of London’s life.”

The balloons cover much of the roof space in the popular spot, measuring 54 metres in length and 12 metres in width. They weigh a total of 320kg, which is roughly equivalent to three baby elephants.

A pop-up gallery on the Piazza will show more of Pétillon’s work, including his Invasions photographs, which show his other balloon pieces, and some of his other work.

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