The Sun and the Moon

Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery on Art Inspired by the Celestial

This week we went to the excellent exhibition The Sun and the Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial at the Saatchi Gallery.

It’s simply conceived, organised in nine big and airy rooms, taking us from dawn to dusk and through the night. It features many striking images and objects from a diversity of times and places, and they offer us associations and archetypes found in many different cultures. The vitality of the sun, the mysteries of the moon: nothing too complex really, but a true commonality – an open and rich accounting of the world, and inclusive in a very easy way, without being heavy-handed or preachy.

Paintings, collages, textiles, costumes, installations, sculptures, Tarot cards, Aztec calendars, album covers, Ladybird books, Navajo weavings, Stonehenge, moon landings, and much much more. And the art created in workshops that’s shared in the learning centre has great vibrancy too. Such TREASURES.

I particularly liked the huge sun that is Helios by Luke Jerram. Where else can you sit in a deckchair and stare at the shapes that swirl on the surface of the sun?

Bold colours, bold textures, bold shapes. I loved it all. I’m sharing just a few of the photos I took below.

The obsessive-compulsive editor-curator in me as well as the believer in the rights of artists to be fully credited for their work is slightly ashamed that I didn’t get the names of all the wonderful contributors (though I discovered they are listed here).

But, tbh, I realise I too often find myself reading captionage rather than looking at pictures, and here, without thinking, I just found myself drawn into the images. Sometimes I need to ditch the words, stop taking notes, and immerse myself in the art.

And thanks to the Saatchi Gallery for holding this exhibition in honour of my next Tarot For Writers workshop! Celestial Navigations on Sunday 2 August is devoted to storytelling using the powerful associations of the Star, the Moon, and the Sun.

A writing experiment:

• How does the sun shine on to your story?

• What shadows are cast by the moon?

Celestial Navigations: Storytelling With the Star, the Moon and the Sun runs on Sunday 2 August – you can follow the link for booking information.

And The Sun and the Moon: Art Inspired By the Celestial is running at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea until 8 September. Go see it! One of the best exhibitions I’ve seen in a long time.