Luke Jerram’s Moon illuminates Bristol’s Wills Memorial Building

Luke Jerram’s Moon illuminates Bristol’s Wills Memorial Building

Posted on: 21 Mar 2017

Museum of the Moon, the latest installation from the man behind the Park Street waterslide has been suspended in the space above guests visiting the university building’s Great Hall, which will open to the public this weekend.

Luke Jerram

Luke Jerram’s (above) name has become synonymous with the innovative, interactive art installations which are continually enjoyed by their public audiences. Having placed over 1300 pianos in the communal spaces of over 46 cities around the world since 2008 as part of his ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ project (which is due to return this summer), the artist’s gaze has turned continually back to his hometown of Bristol.

 

It was Jerram’s stroke of genius (and several months of fastidious logistical planning) which led to a giant waterslide being installed on Park Street in 2014 (below), and it was by his hand that a fleet of fishing boats were placed in Leigh Woods a year later.

Park Street Waterslide

Now Jerram’s latest offering has risen in Bristol, in the form of a model moon, painted to a scale of 1:500,000. Museum of the Moon, a balloon of seven metres in diameter and detailed with NASA images, is in place in the rafters above the Great Hall in the Wills Memorial Building and will be visible to the public this weekend as proof that the artist's creativity has not waned.

 

Speaking to Bristol24/7, Jerram said, “This is the first time that the artwork has been presented in such a magnificent space. It’s just exquisite, the architecture, the details, all the lighting, so I’m really pleased and proud to be able to present it here.”

 

“And also for the people of Bristol to be able to see it, all my friends and family. To be able to see it in my hometown is really nice.”

 

Museum of the Moon will be free to view when the Great Hall opens to the public between 10am-8pm on Saturday 25th March and between 10am-5pm on Sunday 26th March. Luke Jerram will give talks at 11.30am and 4.30pm on Sunday.

 

If you fancy a bite after checking out the art, head over to the nearby Koh Thai on the Triangle. To book a table call 0117 922 6699.


Article by:

Sam Mason-Jones

An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.