Art for climate protection
Floating Earth opens up new perspectives
It must be a magical moment when astronauts see the earth as a whole from space. It is something that impresses everyone who has been able to experience it. Floating Earth gives visitors the unique opportunity to observe our world in this way.
The art installation shows a huge three-dimensional depiction of the globe, ten meters in diameter. With the onset of darkness, the installation begins to glow, and shows us in detail our continents, oceans and cloud formations. The imagery was supplied by NASA.
This sensational work by the British artist Luke Jerram, who is from Hannover's oldest twin city Bristol, has been enchanting people around the world. It is an invitation to gain a new and perhaps different view of our planet and encourages us to question our relationship to it. The German premiere at the KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen 2024 in Hannover was co-financed by the Hannover Re Foundation. There it floats on the water of the Maschteich, as if it had fallen from the sky.
Floating Earth shows the fragility and vulnerability of the planet. Jerram uses the so-called overview effect to achieve this. For unlike the moon, which we have always seen in the sky, the NASA Apollo 8 mission was the first moment when the earth became visible to its people as a precious blue sphere floating in space. This moment changed our relationship to the earth forever.
The message of the installation is therefore not only in line with the Hannover Re Foundation's motto “Give back to the future!” This project also brings together the foundation's two aims of art and sustainability in an exemplary combination.
More information about the KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen, the artist Luke Jerram and his artwork Gaia.
Photo credits: © KunstFestSpiele Herrenhausen 2024, Helge Krückeberg
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