Experience the Moon at Lichfield Cathedral
This September and October Lichfield Cathedral is proud to host the stunning artwork ‘Museum of the Moon’ by Luke Jerram.
Suspended in the Nave of the beautiful Cathedral from 21 September to 31 October this internally lit artwork, which is seven metres in diameter, will allow visitors to experience the moon up-close.
Artist, Luke Jerram, says: “As a child I always wanted a telescope so I could study the moon and the night’s sky. Now with my own Moon, I can fly there, study every detail and share this experience with the public. We can explore the far side of the Moon which is never visible from Earth.
It’s great to witness the publics’ response to the artwork. Many people spend hours with the Moon exploring its every detail. Some visitors lie down and moon-bathe. One little girl even said to me “will you put the moon back afterwards?” She thought I’d stolen the real moon!”
‘Museum of the Moon’ features detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface and at an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimeter of this sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface.
Visitors during the daytime will be able to view Museum of the Moon as part of their visit Monday-Saturday 10:00-17:00 and Sunday 12:00-17:00.
For a truly special experience, tickets are available to book for evening events where the artwork will come into its own: internally lit to shine like the moon accompanied by a surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award-winning composer Dan Jones.
Evening event tickets can be booked through the Cathedral website at: http://www.lichfield-cathedral.org/moon and are £5 for adults, £3 for children with under 3s FREE.
Dean of Lichfield, the Very Revd Adrian Dorber, said: “Luke Jerram’s work has won praise and acclamation wherever it has been seen. It is really excellent to bring the ‘Museum of the Moon’ to Lichfield. Over the past few years the Cathedral has been encouraging visitors to think about the universe and its origins and the role of humanity within God’s good creation. This is another opportunity not only to see something beautiful and eye-catching, but to be awed. I hope it will be a great autumn attraction. We look forward to making all age groups welcome.”
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Museum of the Moon is a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram.
Over its lifetime, the Museum of the Moon will be presented in a number of different ways both indoors and outdoors, so altering the experience and interpretation of the artwork. As I t travels from place to place, it will gather new musical compositions and an ongoing collection of personal responses, stories and mythologies, as well as highlighting the latest moon science.
Luke Jerram’s multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. Living in the UK but working internationally for 19 years, Jerram has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the globe. Jerram has a set of different narratives that make up his practice which are developing in parallel with one another. He is known worldwide for his large scale public artworks.
image: Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram. Ely Cathedral, UK, 2019. Photo (c) James Billings