A MINIATURE forest of broccoli grows in a deserted classroom at the edge of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. Farther downstream, a flotilla of unusual boats are moored, one a galleon built of discarded furniture, another a floating tea-house.
This is Bootle, but not as we know it, transformed for the Liverpool Biennial’s Urbanism 09 – five days of “exhibition, exploration, discussion and celebration”.
Berlin artist-architects Raumlabor have taken over the former St Winefride’s and St Richard’s School, turning it into a gallery dedicated to the story of a public park that never was.
A fictional tale based on true historical characters, it tells of Lord Liverpool’s dream to create a huge garden – one half English, the other half Indian – smack in the middle of Bootle.
The Promising Land installation brings the disused building to life, but what is most intriguing is the level of detail the artists have gone to in providing evidence for their story.
“It has taken us two weeks to install,” says Raumlabor’s Benjamin Foerster Baldenius.
“It’s an interesting story that ties the rooms together, and we hope people will enjoy following it through.”
Next, it’s a quick hop on a water taxi, or five minutes’ drive, to the Bank Hall site, where Italian artist Danilo Capasso has created a fictional canal port from a Tarmac parking lot.
Portoallegro boasts a post office, cafe, garden, cinema and art gallery, as well as providing a place for weird and wonderful vessels to dock.
Visitors can actually enjoy a brew on board Ben Parry’s Tea House, a beautifully constructed wooden building attached to a raft, with one wall entirely made of drawers.
“We’re interested in the idea that, if people want it to happen badly enough, then these spaces can be regenerated without the use of urban planning,” says Capasso.
This is still a public waterway, so real narrowboats often pass through the surreal space.
And, best of all, it offers you a rarely-seen glimpse of the artistically derelict brick warehouses that line the canal.
URBANISM 09 runs until Sunday on the Bootle and Bank Hall canal side. Further details at www.biennial.com
