Gaia installation

Keele University is thrilled to be working in partnership with Appetite and welcoming Luke Jerram's Gaia installation to the Chapel in November 2021.

The amazing artwork measures six metres in diameter and features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the Earth's surface*. Gaia provides the opportunity to see our planet on this scale, floating in three-dimensions.

The installation creates a sense of the Overview Effect, which was first described by author Frank White in 1987. Common features of the experience for astronauts are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.

The artwork also acts as a mirror to major events in society. In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the artwork may provide the viewer with a new perspective of our place on the planet; a sense that societies of the Earth are all interconnected and that we have a responsibility toward one another. After the lockdown, there has been a renewed respect for nature.

A specially-made surround sound composition by BAFTA award winning Composer Dan Jones is played alongside the sculpture. In Greek Mythology Gaia is the personification of the Earth. Gaia has been created in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Bluedot and the UK Association for Science and Discovery Centres.

*The imagery for the artwork has been compiled from Visible Earth series, NASA