For one week only, step into the glow of Helios, a breathtaking, larger-than-life artwork created by renowned UK artist Luke Jerram.
Helios fills the Concert Chamber with a kind of quiet astonishment, the sort that settles over you before you even realise you have stopped talking. The room itself is usually a cool, echoing space, but with Luke Jerram’s six‑metre sun suspended at its centre, it feels transformed. The glow is the first thing you notice. A warm, steady radiance that softens the chamber’s edges and pulls you toward it like a tide.
Up close, the illusion falters a little. You can see the seams, the joins, the practicalities that hold the sphere together. The surface becomes less celestial and more engineered. But take a few steps back and the magic returns. The lighting inside the sphere creates slow, hypnotic movements that ripple across the surface, giving the impression of a living star. The warmth it casts is not literal, yet it feels strangely real, as if the chamber has been gently heated by its presence.
The installation invites lingering. Chairs and beanbags are scattered around the space, encouraging visitors to sit, recline, wander, or circle the sphere from every angle. The ability to view it from the gallery above adds another layer, offering a sense of orbiting rather than observing. Each vantage point reveals something different. From below, the sun feels monumental. From the side, it becomes a textured landscape. From above, it looks almost serene.
The atmosphere shifts again at lunchtime when musicians from the Auckland Philharmonia take their place beneath the sphere. Strings, oboe, or improvisational quartets play for an hour each day, and the effect is remarkable. The music wraps around the installation, turning the chamber into a sanctuary. Even outside of performance hours, the ambient soundtrack creates a sense of calm that encourages people to slow down. The cold, formal architecture of the room dissolves into something warm and meditative.
Helios is both scientific and poetic. Knowing that its surface is built from hundreds of thousands of images, drawn from NASA data and astrophotography, adds a sense of awe. You are looking at something real, yet reimagined. Something familiar, yet unreachable. The installation’s scale, combined with the subtle animated lighting and immersive soundscape, creates an experience that feels both intimate and vast.
In a week of unpredictable weather, the chance to sit beneath a sun that never burns out feels like a small gift. Helios offers a moment of stillness, a reminder of the beauty and complexity of the star that sustains us, and a rare opportunity to see it in a way that feels both monumental and gentle.
Helios was created by renowned UK artist Luke Jerram
This event is free! You do not need to book tickets; you can just show up.
Helios is available March 7-16, 11am - 5pm at Aotea Centre, Auckland