Following a sold-out display in summer 2020, Luke Jerram’s awe-inspiring art installation Gaia is returning to the Old Royal Naval College in January. Due to overwhelming demand, Gaia is returning for a full month in pride of place in the magnificent Painted Hall, along with an exciting series of extended opening hours on Fridays. This monumental internally-lit sculpture, measuring seven metres in diameter, was created using 120dpi NASA imagery and is an exact scale replica of our planet.

UK artist Jerram aims to instil a sense of the ‘Overview Effect’ that astronauts experience when looking down at Earth from space: feelings of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life and a sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the outdoors and nature becoming a haven for so many, Gaia acts as a mirror to society to provide the viewer with a new perspective of our precious planet.

Gaia is 1.8 million times smaller than Earth, with each centimetre of the sculpture representing 18km of the Earth’s surface. By standing 211 metres away from the slowly rotating artwork, viewers can see the Earth as it appears from the moon while enjoying a specially made surround-sound composition by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones. The sculpture provides an amazing opportunity for visitors to the Painted Hall to view Earth as it appears from space, floating in three dimensions like a ‘blue marble’.

You can experience Gaia with all standard entry Painted Hall tickets during the installation dates. Click here to book.

Gaia Friday evening sessions will illuminate visitors’ worlds every Friday in January. These extended openings will allow visitors into the Painted Hall after hours, to experience Gaia in a whole new light, with the internally-lit sculpture appearing even more magnificent after dark. The Painted Hall Shop and Café will also remain open to enjoy food and drink along with the Baroque and contemporary art upstairs in the Hall.

To book for our extended Friday opening hours, click here.

Gaia was originally created in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bluedot and the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres. With supporting partners Culture Liverpool and Liverpool Cathedral.

Book with confidence. As the opening of Gaia has been delayed due to Covid restrictions you can switch your ticket to another date or receive a full refund. We have currently suspended bookings until we receive further updates from the government, and will reopen them as soon as we are able. To be the first to know when you will be able to visit Gaia, please follow us on social media or sign up to our newsletter.

Image © Colin B. Mackenzie