By The Light of The Moon: Lauren Baker's Midnight Moon

Indeed, for centuries, the moon itself was the stuff of legend. Religious and folkloric beliefs ranged from the moon controlling our behaviours, moods, madness and destinies to anthropomorphic gods and goddesses. Whether it’s literature, science, fine art or popular culture, the moon still has the capability to transfix us.

Lauren Baker’s Midnight Moon is an artwork that truly celebrates this lunar pull of creative consciousness. Taking this artist’s work as our inspiration, today we’re over the moon to explore some of our favourite lunar artworks as well as Lauren Baker’s stunning creations…

I love you to the moon and back

For centuries of human history, the moon represented an unattainable goal. 

Indeed, in I want! I want! the artist and poet William Blake expressed his longing to set foot on the moon. Created in 1793, this engraving of a child-like figure taking their first steps on the long ladder into space captures the sense of longing we all feel.

Of course, it wasn’t until July 1969 when humanity first set foot on the moon’s surface that we gained “first hand” experience of its reality. Perhaps because of this mystery, the moon has long represented the unfathomable depths of love and knowledge. 

In ancient Greek legend (for example) the moon goddess Selene fell in love with a mortal shepherd, Endymion. To preserve their love forever, she put him in an eternal sleep so she could visit every night – literally from the moon and back.

Released in 2020, Lauren Baker’s Midnight Moon is part of an exclusive limited edition series (with just 50 prints created), all personally signed and numbered by the artist. The artwork plays with themes of romance and the intense emotions associated with the moon, depicted alongside Lauren Baker’s characteristic neon lettering shining out from the blue-black depths.

Each print is hand embellished with diamond dust, creating a shimmering and endlessly shifting surface at the centre of the composition.

Other Lauren Baker works also use precious stones to communicate the sheer wonder of the night skies. For instance, the Galaxy Explosion series are also hand embellished with diamond dust, presented in stunning neon tones of turquoise, pink and indigo. 

Exploring light and human connection…

Lauren Baker has long been fascinated with the night sky and its associated folklore. Although living and working in London, her large-scale celestial installations have appeared across the UK and as far afield as the Middle East. 

A recent sculptural work (inspired by the shifting interplay of the Sun and the Moon) appeared in a UNESCO World Heritage desert site in Saudi Arabia, in March 2020. Speaking of the work, the artist was inspired by the words of Nikola Tesla who said, “if you want to know the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibrations.”

Given the moon’s frequent association with feminine energies and ancient symbolism, it’s also a fitting topic for another Lauren Baker installation celebrating female empowerment and the suffragette movement. Titled Luna Woman Power Totem, this three metre high installation appeared as part of the Enfield Winter Lights 2022 celebration.

As well as Lauren Baker’s fascination with the sun, stars and moon, she’s also inspired by the movement of energy and human chakras. 

With works such as Crown, Third Eye, Throat, Sacrum and Root, the artist creates glowing celestial orbs relating to the human body. The subtle shine of these intriguing objects encourages a deep sense of contemplation, both of our bodily self and their beautiful forms.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining…

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov

Akin to Lauren Baker’s artistic investigations, artists have experimented with depicting the subtle glints and reflected shine of the moon throughout art history. 

Of course, the moon doesn’t present the same face every day. It waxes until it becomes a giant glowing white disk in the night sky, before waning back to a silver crescent and vanishing altogether in an endlessly repeating cycle. 

This elusiveness is a theme that frequently appears in artistic representations, whether that’s the swirling ephemerality of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, the romantic contemplation of Caspar David Friedrich’s Two Men Contemplating the Moon, the dream-like atmosphere of Henri Rousseau’s Sleeping Gypsy or enigmatic Bronze Age objects such as the 1600 BCE “Nebra Sky Disk”.

Lunar exploration and artistic inspiration

“While we were out there on the moon, the world was growing closer together.” – Buzz Aldrin

Of course, no introduction to lunar art would be complete without mention of Buzz Aldrin. 

The iconic Apollo 11 mission broadcast live to an estimated 500 million viewers on 21 July 1969. As well as this amazing television broadcast, Aldrin took some of the most recognizable and exciting images of the moon of all time. 

Whether it’s the Man on the Moon shot, Inspecting the Eagle or Flag on the Moon, these photographs brought the reality of lunar exploration to life as no others could. 

Indeed, Aldrin’s images have since gone on to inspire countless artists, scientists and night-sky gazers. One such individual is Britain’s “explosive artist” Paul Oz. In his unique dynamic style, Paul Oz reimagined Aldrin’s photograph in To the Moon, complete with carefully-observed USA space suits, the iconic reflection in Armstrong’s helmet and the depths of empty space…

If you fancy a bit of night-sky gazing, this month’s new moon occurs on 30 May. For some regions in the world, this will actually be the second new moon of the month – a rare event called a “black moon”! It will also be the day after a close approach between Jupiter and Mars, so you might just be able to see these planetary giants nearby in the night sky.