On Saturday, Kolkata witnessed a unique spectacle: the “moon” landed on the lawns of Victoria Memorial. Thousands of people gathered to witness a dazzling replica of the moon descend just inside north gate of the iconic structure.
Museum of the Moon, a touring artwork by U.K.-based artist Luke Jerram will light up the lawns of Victoria Memorial on Saturday and Sunday.
The replica, which has a diametre of seven metres, has been created using imagery from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera at an approximate scale of 1:5,00,000.
Each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 5 km of the moon’s surface. Mr Jerram expressed hope that the project “restores a sense of wonder, inspires questions and reconnects people to the night sky”. He added that people have disconnected from the moon as they live in cities illuminated by artificial light.
We are the best fit
“If the moon needs a resting place in this city for a couple of evenings, we are of course best-suited to host it, since we are the icon of the city,” said Jayanta Sengupta, secretary and curator of Victoria Memorial Hall.
The Museum of Moon has music from award-winning British composer Dan Jones but the Victoria Memorial has organised a live orchestra for visitors.
The exhibition was hosted in collaboration with British Council, India.
