Giant moon sculpture returns to Exeter Cathedral

BBC News

30-01-2025

A 7m wide sculpture of the moon will return to Exeter Cathedral on 1 February, organisers said.Museum of the Moon, an internally-lit artwork that features high-resolution NASA imagery of the lunar surface, is due to be suspended from the cathedral's stone vault nave until 1 March.Each centimetre of the sculpture, by British installation artist Luke Jerram, represents 5km (3 miles) of the moon's surface - a scale of about 1 to 500,000, a spokesperson said.The Very Reverend Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter, said: "Last time [the sculpture] touched so many people really deeply and we were particularly taken with the joy it brought to children and young people."
"We've brought it back so that yet more people from all over Devon can come and experience the awesomeness of the moon in Exeter Cathedral's wonderful nave," he said.The installation includes a surround-sound composition, created by BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones.Jerram said he was inspired to reflect "different ideas and beliefs in different parts of the world" about the moon.He said: "[The moon] has been used as a timekeeper, calendar and been a source of light to aid night-time navigation, while also inspiring artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians."The sculpture attracted about 54,000 visitors when it was displayed at the cathedral in 2022.