Huge bullets race through London’s Tottenham Court Road

According to videos taken by viewers and shared on social media, the bullets gradually lose their mirrored coating until a white core is left.

While many assumed the baubles were giant Christmas baubles that had somehow come loose during the process Storm ClaudioOn show this week in France and the UK, they were part of a temporary art installation set up in central London to promote a musical duo’s new album.

The installation, dubbed the ‘Four World Set’, created by American artist Tom Shannon, was set up on Sunday evening and was scheduled to run until Saturday in St Giles Square, near Tottenham Court Road.

Online, the footage sparked reactions ranging from apparent glee to outright disbelief, as some have wrote songs and poems to bullets running amok.

For some, the orbs brought back memories of the 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, which was about a large white orb called Rover that could prevent people from moving. Others joked that the scene reminded them of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones chased through a tunnel by a huge boulder.

“Imagine going home and telling how you almost got run over by a giant Indiana Jones style bullet and no one believed you until this video,” wrote one Twitter user. “Life is really weird right now,” wrote another simply.

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For those behind the installation, the news hit harder. Musician Kai Campos, one half of electronic music duo Mount Kimbie, said he was “heartbroken” after winds caused at least two of the balls to become loose.

He said the team responsible for it “prepared for bad weather and strong winds but just got really unlucky”.