Spectacular new art installation brings the world to Cobh
The Gaia installation at Cobh Cathedral, part of the Cork Midsummer Festival. Picture; Eddie O'Hare
The couple who have "brought the world to Cork" say it’s just the first of what they hope will be many special projects that will benefit Cobh and Great Island.
Garry and Anne Wilson visited Cobh’s landmark St Colman’s Cathedral on Tuesday night to see the spectacular 7m-wide rotating sculpture of Planet Earth hanging from the cathedral’s magnificent vaulted ceiling ahead of its official opening on Wednesday as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival.
They said they were overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the artwork and hope it will encourage people to visit and experience it.
“All we are trying to do is some good things for the island," Garry said.
"We have refurbished Belvelly Castle and have been blown away by the reaction of the community to that.
They are working on other projects, but want to consult with locals first before announcing details.
The mesmerising Earth sculpture by artist Luke Jerram, which rotates every four minutes while suspended high above the cathedral aisle, features spectacularly high-res imagery of the Earth’s surface provided by NASA.
Named Gaia, the personification of the Earth in Greek mythology, it is 1.8m times smaller than the planet with each centimetre of the internally lit sculpture describing 18km of the planet’s surface.
A specially-made surround sound composition by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones is played as it rotates.
It is designed to give onlookers 'the overview effect’ — a phrase first coined by Frank White in 1987 to describe the feelings of awe that astronauts experience when they view Earth from space.
It has toured all over the world and has been brought to Cork by the Wilsons, in collaboration with Bishop of Cloyne William Crean, Cobh parish, and Cork Midsummer Festival.
Anne said: “We had seen The Moon installation by the same artist where we live in Harrowgate, and it’s such a fantastic thing and this just seemed to be a unique opportunity to do something a bit special."
Garry said he hopes it brings visitors into the cathedral and causes people to reflect.
The couple praised Peter Daly, Jonathan Lee, Bishop Crean, and the Midsummer Festival team for their work on the project.
Bishop Crean said the artwork provides an opportunity to renew our appreciation for the Earth and how we care for it as our ‘common home’.
“Caring for our planet is as important now as it has ever been, and this exhibition gives us all a chance to sit, reflect, and refocus on our common goal to make our planet a better place in which to live,” he said.
The exhibition will be open to the public until June 26, from 11am to 9pm weekdays, from 11am to 5.30pm and 7pm to 9pm on Satudays, and from 2pm to 7pm on Sundays.
It will be officially opened at 7.30pm on Wednesday with a prayer service and recital featuring St Colman’s Cathedral and chamber choirs.
The cathedral will also host a recital of Holst’s 'The Planets Suite' by St Fin Barre’s Cathedral organist Robbie Carroll on June 21 — midsummer’s night.
