04 Musuem of the Moon_res (2)

I love Luke Jerram’s work and have been fortunate to meet the artist as well. His work is often on a grand scale and aims to provoke discussion. I have covered his art work before and his work In Memoriam covered death and reflecting on its consequences. Luke has also created Gaia, which is a large scale replica of the earth. This was recently housed at Millennium Point, Birmingham. Having seen Gaia, I was excited to learn that “Museum of the Moon” was visiting Lichfield Cathedral for the month of October 2022.

Museum of the Moon, Lichfield Cathedral, October 2022
An idea of the size of the moon. This picture featured on BBC Midlands Instagram account.
Museum of the Moon, Lichfield Cathedral, October 2022
Lying on the floor looking up.

Lichfield Cathedral is set in a picturesque courtyard and the front facade has many statues making up the West door. Once inside, the Nave of the Cathedral is dominated by the moon. The white globe contrasts with the brown masonary of the pillars and is enhanced by the associated lighting, both artificial and natural. The Moon is seven metres in diameter and is made up of 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. The globe does not rotate but there is an imperceptible movement caused by the flow of air through the cathedral. The detail of the moon is possible from the high resolution pictures and 1 centimetre represents 5km of the moon’s surface. The internal illumination provides the white glow one normally associates with the moon.

Museum of the Moon, Lichfield Cathedral, October 2022
The surreal view of the moon in the Cathedral.
Museum of the Moon, Lichfield Cathedral, October 2022
The surface detail of the Moon

I used my iPhone13 exclusively for the pictures and one of my photographs was featured on the BBC Midlands Instagram account. Whilst in the Cathedral, we also took the opportunity of exploring the interior and it is a beautiful place to visit.

Museum of the Moon, Lichfield Cathedral, October 2022
The front facade of Lichfield Cathedral.