Luke Jerram’s Breathtaking Gaia Artwork Installed in Harrogate

It took three hours to install and 30 minutes to inflate in the spectacular giant globe artwork by the renowned UK artist Luke Jerram is part of HACS Harrogate Music Festival, in St Wilfrid's Church in Harrogate creating a striking site.

The breathtaking 3D illuminated artwork, which measures six metres in diameter and was created using Nasa imagery of the Earth’s surface, replicates what it is like seeing our planet from space.

The artwork is 2.1million times smaller than the real earth with each centimeter of the internally lit scuplture describing 21km of the Earth's surface.

Gaia features a specially created composition by Bafta award-winning composer Dan Jones that will be played alongside the slowly revolving sculpture in St Wilfrid’s Church.

The installation creates a sense of the Overview Effect, which was first described by author Frank White in 1987 and relates to the feelings of awe experienced by astronauts when seeing the planet from space.

In Greek mythology Gaia is the personification of the Earth, and the artist hopes his artwork will give viewers a deeper understanding of its fragility.

Luke Jerram
I wanted to make the artwork seem as authentic and realistic as possible to give the public the opportunity to see how our planet looks from space. For most people, this will be their most intimate, personal and closest encounter they will ever have with the whole of our planet.

I hope visitors to Gaia get to see the Earth as if from space; an incredibly beautiful and precious place. An ecosystem we urgently need to look after – our only home.

Photo: Richard Maude ©

Gaia is open to the public for hourly sessions from 4 – 12 July. Tickets are priced at £4 for adults, £3 for students and £2 for children. Family tickets for two adults and two children are available for £10. Quiet sessions, designed for a calming, sensory-friendly experience, will be open for an hour to visitors on Monday 7 July at 10am and Wednesday 9 July at 7pm.

For timings and to book, visit harrogateinternationalfestivals.com or call the Box Office on 01423 562 303.