JOIN USEven as people in the city tried to get a glimpse of the super blue blood moon over buildings and trees, the celestial body descended on the earth at the National Gallery of Modern Art on Wednesday.
The UK artist Luke Jerram has brought the moon to the earth in the form of a large-scale inflatable orb. However, his moon is half a million times smaller than the real one.
Titled 'Museum of Moon', the British Council has brought this installation artwork to India for a multi-city tour, which will be open for public viewing on Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm.
A detailed landscape of the moon, its craters and highlands are clearly visible in the internally-lit recreation which is suspended right above the pond on the NGMA campus.
Talking about his work, Jerram said: "When I was a kid, I wanted a telescope. But my mother said it was too expensive. I made this to bring people closer to the moon. This way it is accessible to anyone."
The artwork has been created using images from the NASA and every centimetre on the miniature moon represents five kilometres of the actual one.
The installation was launched at the NGMA, with a performance by dancers from Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts. The dance titled 'Ek Chhoti Si Asha' depicted the physical challenges of a robot on the Moon and was a dedication to India's lunar mission.
Speaking at the launch, Jerram recalled that when the work was presented in Bristol, a little girl had asked him if he would put the moon back once he was done.