Comment: We can’t lose our Superlambanana statue icon

Feb 15 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

WHY does Liverpool end up on the front page for all the wrong reasons? Today’s dismaying news that the iconic Superlambanana sculpture could be on the move from Liverpool to Manchester before the end of the year is something Liverpool city council could have done without.

Liverpool’s familiar, custard-yellow sculpture is about to be reclaimed by its maker, Japanese-based artist Taro Chiezo, on the expiration of his 10-year gift to the city of Liverpool.

Now Mr Chiezo is looking for a buyer, and it is understood a potential buyer in Manchester has signalled real interest.

There are some very pressing questions to be answered regarding the Superlambanana; among them the exact nature of the deal with the artist and the rights of ownership.

Why, before Culture Year, this problem was not quietly resolved is baffling.

So it would appear that Liverpool is facing the loss of one of its most iconic artworks; a piece so intrinsic to the city that it has inspired “Go Superlambanana”, one of the most anticipated popular events of Culture Year.

Love or loathe the Superlambanana – and most people love it – it is a quirky part of Liverpool culture and any attempt to sell it, particularly to Manchester, will cause uproar.

The situation has all the hallmarks of a row to echo that of the Gormley statues on Crosby Beach, which the Daily Post campaigned so successfully to save.

The Superlambanana cannot be lost to Liverpool. But, equally, it would be a sorry state of affairs if the genuine affection which people feel for this artwork was used as a bargaining chip to push up its value.

Frank Zappa said the definition of art was making something out of nothing and selling it.

It is to be hoped that, for lovers of the Superlambanana, it is not a case of Mr Chiezo making something out of nothing, and selling out.