Helios | Cork Midsummer Festival

Experience the Sun like never before at St Fin Barre's Cathedral.

Helios is an invitation to explore the Sun up close through a huge, dazzling new artwork by world-renowned UK artist Luke Jerram.

Each centimetre of this six-metre sculpture represents 2,300km of the real Sun’s surface.

See mesmerising sunspots and sources of solar flares to a soundtrack of live NASA recordings of our solar system’s power source. Light and sound combine to create an awe-inspiring, immersive opportunity to bathe in the intensity of the Sun’s beauty and power - while reflecting on its vital role in shaping Earth’s climate and sustaining life.

Artist Luke Jerram
Sound Composition Duncan Speakman & Sarah Anderson

Helios is co-commissioned by Cork Midsummer Festival and is the fourth Irish premiere of Luke Jerram’s captivating work at the festival. Previous collaborations include: Museum of the Moon (presented in partnership with MTU, in 2016), 1000 Flowers (2018) and Gaia (presented by Belvelly Castle in partnership with St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, in 2022).

The Cork presentation is supported by Cork City Council's Climate Action Directorate - find out more about Cork City Council's Climate Action and participation in the EU Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission here.

Helios has been co-commissioned by National Trust, Cork Midsummer Festival, Liverpool Cathedral, Old Royal Naval College and University College London.

Supported by Ecclesiastical Insurance.

Lead Photo (c) Becs Hughes, House of Hues.