Darwin: Art Sculpture

This work by Dutch Artist Joep van Lieshout, named Darwin, is one of 25 by 15 different national and international artists being exhibited around the city for six weeks in the SCAPE 2008 Christchurch Biennial of Art in Public Space.

Darwin is a 25-metre long fibreglass sculpture and is large enough for people to move around inside and will serve as the SCAPE information centre during the exhibition.

Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, from the group Atelier van Lieshout, says the work represents inner-city revitalization.

“The work implies power, status, expansion and reproduction. Darwin reflects social Darwinism ideas and the need for survival in all aspects of our lives, whether it be biological or corporate,” he says.

“We’ve heard comments from visiting artists that the centre of our city needs some new life injected into it, so this work is one way to do that for the next few weeks."