Museum of the Moon | A lunar landing at Southwark Cathedral
Take one small step into Southwark Cathedral this month…
…and you’ll find a giant, illuminated, perfectly replicated moon hanging there.
It’s a 6-metre wide travelling artwork by Luke Jerram, which has previously popped up a few other impressive settings like The Painted Hall and the Natural History Museum. Now, it’s suspended dramatically among the gothic pillars and soaring vaulted ceiling of the cathedral until 28th October, following in the footsteps of the earth last summer.
The glowing orb features meticulously detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface, with about 1cm on the artwork representing 5km on the real thing. There’s something surprisingly moving about seeing the whole thing close up, and it’s all brought to life with some atmospheric lighting and an “evolving soundscape” from BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones.
The Museum of the Moon is open until late each night, and only costs £3 or £6 depending on what time you visit. But in case having a scale replica of a heavenly body inside a church wasn’t enough, they’re also putting on a couple of ticketed events underneath it, too. They include talks about the Apollo missions and a discussion with astronaut Tim Peake, comedy nights, organ recitals, jazz nights and more. And we’ll just mention here that Borough Market, with all its bustling street food stalls and bars…
…is just one small step away.
NOTE: The Museum of the Moon is open from 10th-28th October. You can find out more, and book entry (£3/6) or tickets to the special events at their website right HERE.
Southwark Cathedral | London Bridge, London SE1 9DA
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