An art installation saw London's Covent Garden market filled with 100,000 white balloons on Thursday.

The artwork, "Heartbeat" by French artist Charles Petillon, stretches some 54 metres in the air above visitors to the building.

"The balloon invasions I create are metaphors. Their goal is to change the way in which we see the things we live alongside each day without really noticing them," Petillon 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."

Petillon's "invasions" series have seen the trademark white balloons fill abandoned houses, basketball courts, a forest and a car.

The installation in Covent Garden is set to run until September 27.