About
Helios is an invitation to explore the Sun up close through a huge, dazzling new artwork at Swansea Minster by world-renowned UK artist Luke Jerram.
Each centimetre of this six-metre sculpture represents 2,300km of the real Sun's surface.
Light and sound combine to create an immersive opportunity to bathe in the intensity of the Sun's beauty and power inside the church- while reflecting on the sun's vital role in shaping Earth's climate and sustaining life.
Looking at the Sun directly is dangerous and can damage our eyesight. Helios provides a safe opportunity for the public to get up close and inspect its extraordinarily detailed surface, including sunspots, spicules and filaments.
See mesmerising sunspots and sources of solar flares while listening to a specially created soundtrack which includes live NASA recordings of our solar system's power source. The sculpture features the source of the solar flares which caused the Northern lights to be visible from the UK in May 2024.
Helios, in ancient Greek mythology, is the god who personifies the Sun. He drove a four-horse chariot across the sky each day, giving the earth its hours and seasons.
The installation is a fusion of solar imagery, sunlight and a specially created surround sound composition by Duncan Speakman and Sarah Anderson.
The imagery for the artwork has been compiled using photographs of the Sun provided by Astrophotographer Dr Stuart Green (taken between May 2018 to June 2024) and NASA observations of the Sun, with guidance from solar scientist, Professor Lucie Green of University College London (UCL).
Helios has been co-commissioned by National Trust, Cork Midsummer Festival, Liverpool Cathedral, Old Royal Naval College and University College London.
Luke Jerram's multidisciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. Living in the UK but working internationally since 1997, Jerram has created a number of extraordinary art projects which have excited and inspired people around the globe. In 2019 Luke Jerram was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Helios follows on from Luke's other astronomical artworks Museum of the Moon, Gaia, and Mars.
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