Saturday 28 November 2009

Rambling around Liverpool with some Penguins



On Wednesday we had two hours of fair weather in between all the rain and I managed to spend those two hours around Liverpool. I had hardly gone a few yards before tripping over a penguin.



“Go Penguins” is a public art explosion of unrivalled proportions. Over 200 individual works of art will adorn and animate Merseyside’s streets throughout Christmas and New Year, bringing a very special brand of festive sparkle to the holiday season. They have been commissioned by Liverpool City Council for their Year of the Environment, Many of the penguins have something to say about climate change – simple, easy to follow hints on how we might all be a little bit greener. Many others are just stunning to look at - all of them are fun!






While in Liverpool I went to the Museum. I haven’t been there for many years and was very impressed with the new layout inside. The architecture is a clever mix of the old and new.





Penguins may have arrived in Liverpool but the occasional Superlambanana remains. The original Superlambanana was a bright yellow sculpture which weighed eight tons and appeared in 1998 to celebrate the opening of the Tate in the city. The sculpture is both a comment on the dangers of genetic engineering and also heavily influenced by the history of Liverpool: historically both wool 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, 125 individually designed miniature replicas were created. They were sold off in September 2008 and this is Mandy who was donated to the museum.



And the museum has its own Penguin , of course.





By the time I’d had a look around the aquarium and a quick glance at the insects it was time to go. I shall be back.

8 comments:

  1. I always feel smarter after reading your blog.

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  2. John, looks as if you had an interesting day. Funny what makes art work and what doesn't. I can relate to the Penguins, perhaps whimsy?

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  3. It's going on 2 o'clock in the morning and I am unable to sleep. So glad you were willing to share your interesting day. I feel a little less depressed about being up at this hour!

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  4. That looks like fun! :)
    Glad you had a pause in the rain. I thought I'd be going into town this afternoon to an "Advent event" in the town square, but here it has just started raining heavily again. So I think I'll have to find some other way to amuse myself...

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  5. What an interesting excursion! Penguins!
    Oklahoma has a similar concept around the state with Buffalo.
    New Mexico has horses...they are everywhere in Santa Fe. I'll post on that some time.
    Love the Superlambanana!
    ;^)

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  6. Please can I come with you?

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  7. What a fun day! I LOVE those penguins!!! Especially the first photo. So bright. Just getting out of the house was probably a treat, but the museum was brilliant.

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  8. It looks as though you're having the same sort of weather as we're having!
    The penguins in Liverpool have avian cousins in Victoria where eagles are to be found on every corner - quite lovely really.

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