Luke Jerram’s Mars in the Painted Hall is out of this world

This week is your last chance to catch Luke Jerram’s mesmerising Mars installation before it leaves the Painted Hall on 20 January.
Charlotte Pritchard
Written by Charlotte Pritchard Edited by Jonny Payne 16 January 2025
Installation of the planet Mars with Painted Hall ceiling in background.
Get up close to the astonishing red planet with Luke Jerram’s Mars in the Painted Hall. © Visit London/Charlotte Pritchard.

After closely following Luke Jerram’s sell-out success of Gaia and Museum of the Moon, I had to see his epic model of Mars take centre stage in Greenwich’s Painted Hall – and it didn’t disappoint!

The astonishing artwork, measuring seven metres in diameter, completes Jerram’s trilogy of celestial installations and, like his other bodies of work, fuses imagery, light and surround sound composition.

Known for suspending the Moon in the Natural History Museum and the Earth in Southwark Cathedral, this time around, Jerram’s installation combines two works of art, merging the spectacular Baroque interior of the Old Royal Naval College’s Painted Hall with science and mystery.

This comes in the form of detailed NASA imagery of the Martian surface recreated to scale – about one million times smaller than the actual planet.   

Installation of the planet Mars suspending from the celling in the Painted Hall.

Slowly rotating against the extraordinary backdrop, the installation immediately makes an impact upon entering the hall with the internally lit artwork transporting you to this famed planet. Surround sound composition by BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones adds to the ambience, totally immersing you in the experience.

Luckily, you can get as close as possible to inspect the floating wonder. Standing underneath the giant globe, every valley, crater, volcano and mountain is laid bare. Jerram has even pointed out there’s a crater that looks like a smiley face on the southern hemisphere of the installation – I was thrilled I managed to spot it!

I could have spent another hour admiring the installation, which Jerram says aims “to bring joy to people across the world”. There’s plenty of opportunity to study Mars by looking into mirrors underneath the work, taking a seat on one of the surrounding benches, or from the back of the Painted Hall – where you can marvel at two mesmerising pieces of art at once.

A true masterpiece in itself, the Painted Hall’s mythological ceiling and wall decorations, originally intended as a grand dining room for the naval pensioners and soon becoming a ceremonial space, frames Mars spectacularly and is worth catching in this awe-inspiring setting before it goes back on tour in London or beyond – having previously appeared in The Natural History Museum and All Saints’ Church.

Jerram won’t be stopping his models of the solar system anytime soon with a brand-new installation of the sun, Helios in the Painted Hall, promising some much needed “winter warmth” in the exhibition space from 25 January, following Mars’ departure.

Don’t miss your chance to see Mars in the Painted Hall – exhibiting until 20 January at the Old Royal Naval College. Or book to see Helios, which takes over the same space from 25 January.

Tickets cost £16.50 for adults and children can visit for free. Book tickets here.