As a pre-Christmas treat last year I visited Mars, travelling by boat. After all I’ve worked as a travel writer,and was always interested in space. But it’s an uneasy interest now, after intentions for space colonialism were made by a US president’s billionaire buddy and CEO of SpaceX, vehemently voicing his plans for Mars amongst other things. My feelings about sending humans into space have changed drastically since I was younger and had astronautical ambitions. I stick to my robot collection these days, which includes a few clockwork space explorers.
My riverine journey to Mars was a gentle affair, sailing down the wintry and slightly choppy Thames … the tide was on the move … on an Uber boat to the elegance of Greenwich’s Painted Hall, where artist Luke Jerram‘s glowing replica of the planet Mars was suspended, shuddering slightly.
The Painted Hall itself is part of the old Royal Naval College, where once pensioned off sailors took their meals. Paintings of historical and mythological characters celebrating power, including Mars the god of war, adorn its ceiling and walls. It’s the work of 18th century artist Sir James Thornhill. He was paid £3 for each square yard, and seems to have painted every surface he could find, spending nearly twenty years doing so. Here he is posing with his brushes and palette …
An enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, met by chance, related how during restoration of this wall, where naval officers dined at the raised end of the Hall, traces of gravy were removed from its painted surfaces. Thrown by boisterous officers after an over-indulgent meal perhaps.
Lying on the floor to get a better view of the ceiling, I spotted the portrait of the only pensioned off sailor included amongst the celebrities, an old bearded seadog called John Worley, here posing as Winter. Tucked into another corner was 16th century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Years ago I was commissioned by London’s Evening Standard to visit and write about Ven, Tycho’s island home and site of his magical observatories. Years later Tycho was included in The Comic Strip History of Space, I ran school workshops around his life and achievements and more recently revisited the island for more exploration.
It was dark by the time I set off upriver to Embankment Pier, the Thames lit up by reflections of riverside buildings. Sadly no sign of Mars or any other planets in the cloudy sky that night.
Luke Jerram’s Helios is at the Painted Hall in Greenwich from 25th January until 25th March 2025