Mars at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Luke Jerram’s artwork Mars was installed in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich over winter 2024–25. It ran until Monday 20 January 2025.

It was the last of Jerram’s large installations at the college, after Gaia and Museum of the Moon. The Mars installation was seven metres across and lit from within, with NASA imagery of the planet’s surface and a surround soundscape composed by the BAFTA-winning Dan Jones. It showed the Red Planet about a million times smaller than the real thing.

Mars in the Painted Hall. Image by Annabel Moeller, courtesy of the Old Royal Naval College.

Mars Greenwich Old Royal Naval College: A Fusion of Art, Science, and Wellbeing

While Mars hung in the hall, the college ran wellbeing events beneath it. One was Mars Flow: Yoga and Brunch on 18 January, a yoga session for all levels followed by brunch.

Quiet Hour Fridays ran from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. with reduced capacity and no sound, for autistic and neurodiverse visitors.

In the Artist’s Own Words

Luke Jerram shares his excitement, saying, “As an artist, I am honored to see Mars in the spectacular Painted Hall. It provides a unique backdrop that creates a powerful dialogue between art, space, and history. My hope is that Mars will invite visitors to reflect on our place in the universe and will feel transported to its inhospitable desert wasteland and in comparison, really value our life on Earth.”

Plan Your Visit

Mars filled the Painted Hall, one of the most historic rooms in London, at a college with 600 years of history behind it.

Mars closed on 20 January 2025.