
Here comes the sun...
Luke Jerram's Mars sculpture may have just orbited out of Greenwich, but its successor is burning to take over.
From Tuesday 25 January 2025, Helios — a sizzling 1:200 million scale sculpture of the Sun — arrives in the Old Royal Naval College's Painted Hall — and very much unlike the real deal, you're encouraged to look directly at it.

Internally lit, and with every centimetre representing 200km of the Sun's fiery expanse, this is the first time that Helios has appeared anywhere in the world.
Says Luke Jerram, who compiled the sculpture using photographs taken between May 2018 and June 2024, "The soundscape, lighting and sheer scale of Helios, make this the most dramatic and ambitious of my designs... This installation is designed to be thought-provoking and inspire awe. It is also a unique opportunity to discover the grandeur of this iconic Hall and the many celestial, mythological and historical themes it explores in its painted ceiling."
That Painted Hall, by the way, makes for quite the backdrop: James Thornhill's 'British Sistine Chapel' — with its superterrestrial jumble of kings, queens and mythological creatures — could barely be more dramatic. You may need to lie down in a magnolia room after all this.

If gawking at the great glowing orb's terrifying beauty, alongside one of the most jaw-dropping rooms in the country, isn't enough of a kick for you, a series of events accompany Helios' stint in Greenwich, including dining experiences, yoga sessions, 'lie down and listen' days and a silent disco.
Helios, Old Royal Naval College Greenwich, 25 January-25 March 2025
All images © Luke Jerram/Old Royal Naval College