Focus on Superlambanana and explain the Origin.
The sculpture was created for the ArtTransPennine Exhibition in 1998, part of an initiative to create a 'corridor of art' through the North of England. Liverpool's contribution, designed by Japanese artist Taro Chiezo, was the Superlambanana which was unveiled to the city at the reopening of Liverpool's branch of the famous Tate Gallery. An ironic comment on the dangers of genetic engineering, it was developed with the city specifically in mind as both the banana and lamb were once a common cargo in Liverpool's bustling docks. The thinking behind Chiezo's Superlambanana was the creation of something that 'spoke of the future of 90's Liverpool'. He had previously visited the city and been inspired by the Queensway Tunnel's ventilation shaft, in particular the symbolism of how a vital piece of 1930's engineering had been incorporated into a broader 'sculpture' (or in this case an aesthetically attractive building). Chiezo himself made only a four-inch model, with four local sculptors: Andy Small, Julian Taylor, Tommy Reason and Ray Stokes, recreating it on a scale of 50:1.It was created using a wire-mesh frame that supported a concrete and fibreglass shell and was developed at the former Bryant and May Matchworks factory in the south of the City at a total cost of £35,000. The sculpture was at first considered controversial and there was scepticism regarding its purpose and value. However it soon became a popular symbol in the city and a valued piece of public art. At the end of the ArtTransPennine Exhibition, responsibility for the sculpture was handed to the Liverpool Architecture & Design Trust.
banana Taro Chiezo Queensway Tunnel Liverpool Liver England Tate lamb Bryant and May Tate Gallery genetic engineering Liverpool's branch Bryant and May Matchworks