What Nelson Sees by Paul Cocksedge Studio at the London Design Festival 2025 – Photos by ©Mark Cocksedge.

Design. “I always wondered what the Admiral’s statue could witness from its elevated perch above Trafalgar Square,” shares Paul Cocksedge. That curiosity sparked What Nelson Sees, his installation for the London Design Festival, which invites people to share the hidden view from Nelson’s column—fifty metres up—revealing a perspective that has remained out of reach for nearly two centuries.

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For the London Design Festival, Paul Cocksedge invites Londoners and visitors alike to look at the city through new eyes—or rather, through the eyes of one of its most famous figures. His installation, What Nelson Sees, playfully imagines what Admiral Nelson’s statue might have witnessed from its lofty perch over the past two centuries.

The work takes shape as a striking freestanding weathered steel structure made of intersecting tubes. These geometric lines double as telescopic portals, guiding viewers to watch a film created with Google Arts & Culture using Flow, Google’s new AI filmmaking tool powered by Veo. Peer inside, and you’ll discover the vantage point from fifty metres up—quite literally what Nelson sees.

But the installation goes further than simply offering a bird’s-eye view. With the press of a button, visitors can rewind time to see how London has changed—horse-drawn carriages giving way to cars, gas lamps replaced by electric lights, and fashions shifting decade by decade. Then, in a seamless turn, the film projects forward, offering glimpses of imagined futures: Will London become more self-sufficient and increase local food production? Will streets adapt to a hotter climate? Will more areas be pedestrianised?

“What Nelson Sees uses one of London’s most enduring monuments, a column that has stood for almost 200 years, as the anchor for a conversation about the next 200 years,” explains Cocksedge. “It connects the sweep of London’s history to the possibilities and uncertainties of its future. At its heart, it is about perspective, about looking out from where Nelson stands and seeing London: past, present, and future.”

Ultimately, What Nelson Sees becomes more than a playful thought experiment—it’s a cinematic reflection on London itself: a city of constant reinvention, where history and imagination meet, and where every glance at the skyline hints at stories still unfolding.

Photos are by Mark Cocksedge, courtesy of London Design Festival.