Have you seen the gorgeous glowing sculpture of Earth, Gaia, that crops up in London from time to time? Did you get a chance to visit the Museum of the Moon, which softly illuminated the Painted Hall with its white glow? Regardless of your answer, you’re likely familiar with the large-scale sculptures from Luke Jerram, which always take over our Instagram feeds when they land in London. And now, a new work has arrived – this time of an altogether different part of our solar system: a Mars sculpture entitled Mars: War & Peace.
Having recently moved from St John the Baptist Church, the large-scale sculpture is now found at All Saints’ Church (W11 1JS) until August 8.
Naturally, we had to go and check it out:
The new work follows a familiar format to Jerram’s other works. Spanning seven metres all the way around, the piece makes use of hyper-detailed NASA imagery of Mars. And while the Mars sculpture is pretty immense to behold, it’s obviously nowhere near as large as the planet itself. In fact, at roughly a million times smaller than the planet itself, each centimetre on the sculpture represents 10km on Mars.
A musical and visual delight
Mars: War & Peace is more than just an enormous visual spectacle. The touring artwork also comes accompanied by specially-composed music that heightens the experience. BAFTA and Ivor Novello award-winning composer Dan Jones created a special sound composition that combines the sounds of “seas, deserts and clips from NASA missions to Mars” as well as “the sounds of distant bombing and people marching, as if to war”. It’s inspired by Mars’ own legacy (named after the ancient Roman god of war) and reflects on our own planet’s history of war, particularly the current conflict in Ukraine.
Said Luke Jerram:
Mars: War & Peace follows on from my other touring astronomical artworks Museum of the Moon and Gaia, allowing a close encounter with the Martian planet. Presented with a new soundtrack for the first time at Kensington & Chelsea Festival, I hope that visitors will feel transported to its inhospitable desert wasteland, whilst also being faced to contemplate the bleak realities of war on our planet.
Mars at the Kensington & Chelsea Festival
Mars: War & Peace is being displayed in London as part of the Kensington & Chelse Festival. As part of the festival, it is being displayed across three viewing experiences through its three-week showing. It’s the first time that the Mars sculpture has been exhibited in a church setting. For the ocassion, an all-new soundscape has been devised. In fact, while it was being displayed at St John the Baptist, its residence coincided with a concert series of orchestral performances.
During its time at the Kensington & Chelse Festival, Mars: War & Peace is being displayed at:
- St John the Baptist Church (W14 8AH): July 22 – 30
- All Saints’ Church (W11 1JS): July 31 – August 8
- Jubilee Square (W8 7NX): August 10 – 13
“Is there life on Mars?” Get up close to Mars: War & Peace and you just might find out… There’s not long left to check it out though!
Tickets are required to visit the Mars sculpture but are free of charge. Find out more about the artwork’s residency at the Kensington and Chelsea festival, here.