Stunning artwork at Mackintosh church will fly you to the moon

His work takes place on the dark side of the Moon, a place that has fascinated generations of story-tellers, conspiracy theorists, artists and musicians.

This summer people in Scotland will be able to gaze at the dark side of the Moon for the first time as Museum of the Moon, an extraordinary art installation by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram, makes its debut here after recently being presented in the US, India, China and at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Presented at Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church in Glasgow’s Maryhill until June 24, Jerram’s seven-metre-spanning installation is the centrepiece of a festival of music, performance and events celebrating our lunar neighbour.

The Moon then moves to Kelburn Castle Estate where it joins musicians such as Goldie, A Guy Called Gerald and Auntie Flo at the colourful Kelburn Garden Party from June 29 to July 2.

Museum of the Moon opened at the elegant church – the only designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh to have actually been built – last weekend when seven-piece covers band Start To End gave two sold out performances of Pink Floyd’s 1973 landmark Dark Side Of The Moon album.

The band have additional dates on June 8 and June 9, and will also present a live version of Air’s Moon Safari album on June 21.

Programmed by Synergy Concerts, the live music schedule also features the rocket-powered electronics of Blanck Mass (May 25) and Rival Consoles (Jun 6), indie-rock hero Kristin Hersh (Jun 24), and a clutch of local legends performing special, one-off performances, such as BMX Bandits (May 26), The Pastels (Jun 1) and The Vaselines (Jun 22). On June 12, the Glasgow Science Centre team host an evening of interactive demonstrations and talks on topics such as black holes, gravitational waves and samples taken during the Apollo Moon landings.

“When I’ve taken Museum of the Moon to America, people think about the Apollo missions,” says Jerram. “The interpretation is different in every culture. I’m interested in mythologies and the impact of the Moon on culture and music as well as the scientific aspect.”

Jerram had wanted to do the project for the best part of 15 years, but the technology wasn’t there yet. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the internally-lit sculpture represents 5km of the Moon’s surface and is based on highly-detailed images taken by Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft which has been mapping the Moon since 2009.

“I had to wait a while to do this project but it’s been great to take it around the world and present it in Scotland for the first time in such a prestigious location,” says Jerram of the Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church, which is presenting Museum of the Moon as part of celebrations marking 150 years since Mackintosh’s birth.

The artist notes that installing the sculpture in the church was a challenge, something Neil Butler, artistic director of UZ Arts, the production company behind Museum of the Moon’s Scottish appearances, can relate to.

“The big issue was whether we could actually fit it in,” Butler says. “Thankfully, our production manager did some very technical drawings and decided yes – it could fit.”

Butler first came across the work in Marseilles in 2016 through UZ Arts’ membership of IN SITU, a European network of artists and producers specialising in public art and outdoor performance.

“I walked into this huge warehouse completely packed with people looking at this extraordinary work of art,” he says. “I was completely blown away by it.”

Butler immediately talked with Jerram about presenting Museum of the Moon in Scotland and, on his return to Glasgow, quickly began talks with LJ Findlay-Walsh, artistic director of Take Me Somewhere, the contemporary performance art festival running in the city until June 4. Brian Reynolds from Synergy Concerts was next.

“Brian has a lot of imagination and ideas,” Butler says. “He suggested we look at Queen’s Cross Church. It’s such a perfect location for this. So we talked to Stuart [Robertson, director of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society] on how we could work together, and at the same time I began to talk to Dave Boyle, who runs the Kelburn Garden Party.”

The Moon will feature in Kelburn Garden Party’s Neverending Glen, a walking art experience where UZ Arts have curated an exhibition of work by other artists inspired by the Moon.

Butler continues: “This has been a dream project for us. At UZ Arts, we’re about people discovering amazing works of art. Luke’s work itself is just so wonderful, and it’s also been a dream for us in terms of the partnerships with other organisations. They are why we were able to bring Museum of the Moon to Scotland.”

Context changes how people see Museum of the Moon. Since beginning its voyage around the globe two years ago, the work has inspired different responses depending on culture, geography or architecture. Placed in a church, thoughts may turn to God and the mysteries of creation.

Hovering over a swimming pool or presented as part of a light festival, Jerram’s Moon may inspire different responses. As it continues to tour, the project will keep collecting stories, beliefs and responses to the Moon while highlighting the wonder of space science.

“Whereas in the west we look up and see a face, in China the Moon is orientated at a slightly different angle and they see a rabbit or a hare,” says Jerram. “The Moon is a significant part of their mid autumn harvest festival. They have a story about the goddess called Chang’e, which is quite complicated and features a carpenter and the elixir of life. At some point, some rabbits get involved as well.”

Jerram continues: “The Moon is a strong feature of the Sikh religion, with various gods related to it. We presented the Moon in India when it was the full lunar eclipse. All the women were fasting for the day, and when the lunar eclipse happened, they could eat.”

Jerram’s work also includes Play Me, I’m Yours, a travelling exhibit which has seen more than 1300 pianos placed in public places in 46 cities since launching in 2008.

A few years later his magnificent Aeolus artwork was created, a huge acoustic pavilion that resonates with the wind.

“A lot of my work is quite big, yes,” he says. “I also like making quite small things, like I made my wife’s engagement ring with my voice etched on the side of it, like a vinyl record, that you could play back. A lot of my work comes from the intersection of art and science.”

He adds: “I try to make work that can be enjoyed by different people at different levels. People are often fascinated with the question of what it’s made from. In India, people thought it might be made of paper mache, in other places people thought it might be fibre glass.”

No matter age, ethnicity or culture, we are enthralled by our nearest neighbour, a body which Professor Richard Lathe, a molecular biologist at the University of Edinburgh, says drove the evolution of the first DNA-like biomolecules on Earth. A theory Lathe first put forward over 15 years ago, it says we owe our very existence to the Moon.

“Many responses are very lovely and quite touching,” says Jerram. “One child asked me if I had made the real Moon too. Another came up to me and asked: ‘Will you put the Moon back in the sky afterwards?’”

Museum of the Moon is at Mackintosh Queen’s Cross Church, Glasgow until June 24. For a full schedule and tickets to all events, including day tickets to see the Moon, see museumofthemoon.com

Kelburn Garden Party takes place from June 29 to July 2, Kelburn Castle, near Fairlie.

See www.kelburngardenparty.com for full line-up and tickets.

www.lukejerram.com www.uzarts.com www.synergyconcerts.com www.crmsociety.com www.takemesomewhere.co.uk