The Super Lamb Banana
Encyclopedia
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Weighing almost eight tons and standing at 17 feet tall, it is intended to be a cross between a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
and a lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
and was created by Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
-based Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Taro Chiezo
Taro Chiezo
Taro Chiezo is a Japanese artist based in Manhattan. His works include SuperLambBanana, a sculpture in Liverpool, England.-External links:* *...
. It currently stands in Tithebarn Street, outside the Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University is a British 'modern' university located in the city of Liverpool, England. The university is named after John Moores and was previously called Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts and later Liverpool Polytechnic before gaining university status in 1992, thus...
Avril Robarts Library/Learning Resource Centre
Avril Robarts LRC
The Avril Robarts Learning Resource Centre is one of the three designated libraries belongining to Liverpool John Moores University in Liverpool, England. It is located at 79 Tithebarn Street and serves LJMU's City Campus on Byrom Street. The award winning building was designed by the architect...
, having previously been located on Wapping near the Albert Dock
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
.
Chiezo himself only created a four-inch model, with four local artists: Andy Small, Julian Taylor, Tommy Reason and Ray Stokes, creating the full size replica. Developed for the 1998 ArtTransPennine Exhibition, the sculpture is both a comment on the dangers of genetic engineering and also heavily influenced by the history of Liverpool: historically both sheep and bananas were common cargos in the city's docks.
In 2008, as part of Liverpool's year-long position as European Capital of Culture
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
, 125 individually designed miniature replicas were created. Sponsored by local community organisations and businesses in the city, the mini Superlambananas were located throughout the Liverpool and Merseyside region. One sculpture, The Highest SuperLambBanana, was located on top of Moel Famau
Moel Famau
Moel Famau is the highest hill within the Clwydian Range on the border between Denbighshire and Flintshire in North Wales. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, recognising the very close links the city has with that region.
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 ChiezoTaro Chiezo
Taro Chiezo is a Japanese artist based in Manhattan. His works include SuperLambBanana, a sculpture in Liverpool, England.-External links:* *...
, was the Superlambanana which was unveiled to the city at the reopening of Liverpool's branch
Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool is an art gallery and museum in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, and part of Tate, along with Tate St Ives, Cornwall, Tate Britain, London, and Tate Modern, London. The museum was an initiative of the Merseyside Development Corporation...
of the famous Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. An ironic comment on the dangers of genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
, it was developed with the city specifically in mind as both the banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
and lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
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
Queensway Tunnel
The Queensway Tunnel is a road tunnel under the River Mersey, in the north west of England, between Liverpool and Birkenhead. It is often called the Birkenhead Tunnel, to distinguish it from the Kingsway Tunnel, which serves Wallasey.-History:...
'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
Bryant and May
For the Bryant and May series of crime mystery books, see the author Christopher Fowler.Bryant and May was a United Kingdom company created in the mid-nineteenth century specifically to make matches. Their original Bryant and May Factory was located in Bow, London...
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.
Time in the Liverpool area
Since the sculpture's conception it was intended to move around the city and not remain in one location. It was originally located on the Strand near Liverpool's famous Liver Building and has since been located in several places including Williamson SquareWilliamson Square
Williamson Square is in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was initially laid out as a residential square in the middle of the 18th century....
, Spike Island in Halton
Halton, Cheshire
Halton, formerly a separate village, is now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The name Halton has been assumed by the Borough of Halton, which includes Runcorn, Widnes and some outlying parishes.-Geography:...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, and on Wapping, close to the Albert Dock
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
. Council leader Warren Bradley
Warren Bradley (politician)
Warren Bradley is a British firefighter, politician and a former Liberal Democrat . He is a councillor for the Wavertree ward as well as the former Leader of Liverpool City Council, Before taking over as leader of the council from former Liverpool Liberal Democrats leader, Mike Storey, he was the...
also suggested that the sculpture could be moved to Garston
Garston, Merseyside
Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....
in the south of the city in the near future. Although its usual colour is yellow, the statue has occasionally been given a temporary repaint as part of a sponsorship arrangement. Colours have included pink, during a period of sponsorship by the breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
awareness charity Breakthrough
Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Breakthrough Breast Cancer is a United Kingdom charity committed to fighting breast cancer through research, campaigning and education. Its vision is "to work for a future free from the fear of breast cancer".-History:...
, the colours of a Friesian cow during a period of 'quasi-vandalism', and purple during the SmokeFree Liverpool campaign.
Future
There had been a great deal of speculation about the future of the sculpture after it emerged that it was only on loan to the city councilLiverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
from the artist and it had been suggested that the sculpture could be sold to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
's neighbour Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. In September 2008 talks began between the Liverpool Culture Company
Liverpool Culture Company
The Liverpool Culture Company is an organisation that is responsible for the development of cultural programmes in the city of Liverpool, England. Set up by Liverpool City Council in 2004 after the city was announced as the European Capital of Culture in 2008, the Liverpool Culture Company was...
and representatives of Taro Chiezo
Taro Chiezo
Taro Chiezo is a Japanese artist based in Manhattan. His works include SuperLambBanana, a sculpture in Liverpool, England.-External links:* *...
about keeping the sculpture in Liverpool. Six months later, in February 2009, it was announced that an agreement had been reached between the two parties that will see a new replica model being made by original sculptor Julian Taylor that will remain in the city for the next 80 years. It is expected that the current Superlambanana will be returned to Chiezo to be auctioned off.
Go Superlambananas!
European Capital of Culture
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
celebrations, 125 two metre high replicas of Superlambanana were commissioned and located throughout Liverpool and the surrounding areas. The mini Superlambananas were developed in partnership between the Liverpool Culture Company and Wild in Art, with each one being sponsored by a local institution or business and designed by local community members. The miniature Superlambananas were on display for ten weeks, from the June to August 2008. The Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
The Liverpool Echo is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Saturday, and is Liverpool's evening newspaper while its sister paper, the Liverpool Daily Post, is the morning paper...
partnered with the event, releasing a location map and guide of every mini Superlambanana to encourage locals to get involved. All but two of them were located within the Merseyside area. Lovemedoodle was located at Euston railway station
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
in London for a short while until it was moved back to Liverpool Lime Street station
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
, whilst The Highest SuperLambBanana was located on top of Moel Famau
Moel Famau
Moel Famau is the highest hill within the Clwydian Range on the border between Denbighshire and Flintshire in North Wales. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985...
in North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and was sponsored by Denbighshire County Council
Denbighshire County Council
Denbighshire County Council is the governing body for the principal area of Denbighshire , one of the administrative subdivisions of Wales....
.
Superlambananas return
Early in 2010, eight new two-metre high replicas of Superlambanana, known as the 'Eight for 08' were commissioned as a permanent piece of public art. Initially placed on The Strand, in front of the CunardCunard Building
The Cunard Building is a Grade II* listed building located in Liverpool, England. It is sited at the Pier Head and along with the neighbouring Liver Building and Port of Liverpool Building is one of Liverpool's Three Graces, which line the city's waterfront...
and Liver Buildings, they are destined to be moved to the new Lime Street Station once it is finished.