Gaia — Earth by Luke Jerram Showcases a Planet in Three Dimensions

Native Texan and longtime Houston resident Joel A. Bartsch has served as CEO and president of the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) since 2004. In early 2020, Joel Bartsch’s institution presented Gaia — Earth, a touring artwork by artist Luke Jerram.

Showcasing various aspects of life on the third planet from the Sun, the exhibit followed the UK artist’s moon exhibit at HMNS, which also featured a massive planetary installation.

Scaled at 1 to 1.8 million relative to the Earth’s surface, the 3D planetary mockup created for Gaia is highly detailed. It features NASA imagery of familiar terrestrial and ocean systems, as well as atmospheric elements such as cloud systems.

As Mr. Jerram described it, one of his aims in creating Gaia was to explore the distinction between “experience and interpretation.” The Earth’s moon has been an object of observation for millennia, through which human “hopes, dreams, and wishes” have long been projected. By contrast, a view of the Earth floating in space has only been accessible to humans since 1968. It thus evokes a much more recent mythology that is scientifically grounded.

The Gaia exhibit was followed by another Luke Jerram exhibit focused on Mars, the Red Planet.