Just ahead, in front of the Liverpool John Moores University Avril Robarts Library on Tithebarn Street, you’ll spot a massive, bright yellow sculpture that looks half banana, half lamb-it’s hard to miss, with a giant curving “tail” and a friendly, chunky body!
So here we are-face to face with Liverpool’s most gloriously odd mascot: the Superlambanana! Imagine you’re a sailor docking at Liverpool’s bustling waterfront a hundred years ago, the air thick with the smell of wool and tropical fruit-because, yes, the city’s docks were bursting with both sheep and bananas. Now, fast-forward to the wild 1990s and you’ve got an artist, Taro Chiezo, who looked at this bit of history and thought, “Wait! What if I made a creature that’s half sheep, half banana?” And thus, the Superlambanana was born-sort of like a mad scientist’s pet, but in the best possible way.
Chiezo himself built a teeny tiny model, just a few inches high, but it took a team of Liverpool artists-Andy Small, Julian Taylor, Tommy Reason, and Ray Stokes-to bring this eight-tonne, seventeen-foot-tall beast to life. They hammered together a wire-mesh skeleton, slathered on concrete and fiberglass like chefs icing a novelty cake, and ended up with something that looked a bit weird at first… and then, suddenly, felt impossible to imagine Liverpool without.
You might chuckle now, but when Superlambanana first appeared for the 1998 ArtTransPennine Exhibition, folks were baffled. Some laughed, some grumbled about wasted money, and some flat out scratched their heads. A lamb and a banana? Really? But that’s the magic of Superlambanana. It’s a nudge and a wink to Liverpool’s past-a reminder that in this city, even the wildest ideas just might work. It’s also a cheeky warning about the risks of genetic engineering. You can almost hear someone whisper, “Don’t let the scientists mix up the sheep and the fruit!”
But Superlambanana didn’t just sit in one spot and soak up the Merseyside drizzle. Oh no! This sculpture has traveled, showing up all over town like a yellow, four-legged Where’s Wally. You’d see it on The Strand, near the famous Liver Building, then popping up at Williamson Square, or even at Spike Island in Widnes. Sometimes it was yellow, but it’s been pink for a breast cancer charity, spotted like a Friesian cow during a local prank, and painted purple to remind people to stop smoking. In 2023, during the Eurovision Song Contest here in Liverpool, it proudly wore the blue and yellow of Ukraine, a symbol of solidarity and hope.
And then, there was the Superlambanana’s grandest adventure: in 2008, for Liverpool’s run as European Capital of Culture, the city hatched 125 smaller Superlambananas. It was like a flock of cheerful, surreal creatures took over the streets, perched everywhere from shopping centers to office buildings and, in one wild case, even on top of a mountain in North Wales! Locals and visitors alike spent months chasing down every last Superlambanana, with a special guide in hand, snapping photos and picking their favorite. When it was all over, these mini-mascots were auctioned off-one fetched an incredible £25,000, and the sales together raised more than half a million pounds for charity. Not bad for a mutant fruit-sheep!
But there was a twist! The original Superlambanana was only ever on loan from Chiezo, and rumors swirled Liverpool might lose its beloved beast to Manchester. Imagine the scandal! Thankfully, a deal was struck. The artist agreed that a brand-new replica, crafted by the original team, could remain in Liverpool for 80 glorious years. So what you’re standing before now isn’t just a fun-and funny-sculpture. It’s a symbol of Liverpool’s spirit: odd, creative, generous, sometimes controversial, but always unforgettable.
So as you gaze up at this fantastical creature under Liverpool’s often-dramatic sky, imagine the stories it could tell: Smiling at passing students, braving the paintbrushes of campaigners and pranksters, or, for a few shining weeks, sharing the city with its wildly colorful offspring. Not bad for something born from bananas and a bit of wild imagination, eh?
Intrigued by the origin, time in the liverpool area or the after liverpool? Explore further by joining me in the chat section below.
