Superlambanana

Liverpool’s Superlambanana is a bright yellow joke statue that began life as a public art statement but took on a life of its own as the city embraced the work, turning the hybrid creature into a movement all on its own.

The artwork was originally designed as a tiny, scale model by artist Taro Chiezo, the bright yellow mutant was built in its current larger scale by a quartet of local artists from Liverpool. The half-lamb, half-banana acts as both a indictment of genetic engineering and as a tribute to the cities past which once saw both sheep and bananas passing through its ports. 

The original beast stood on the Strand, but then moved around the city, sometimes changing color for various promotions. In addition to the original sculpture, a Go Superlambananas! program started in 2008 which saw the creation of a number of small replicas of the creature, featuring different paint jobs, and tweaked bodies, posted around the city.

The Superlambanana Prime today stands outside of a Liverpool university, with some sub-Superlambananas posted elsewhere. It has now become a popular symbol in the city and little replicas can be purchased for a little piece of Liverpool in your home.