Superlambanana

10 October 2008

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine played host to a very special visitor over the summer: Super‘kalazar’banana, one of 118 ‘lambanana’ sculptures on display across Liverpool as part of the Capital of Culture celebrations.

The statue’s distinctive decoration was designed and painted by LSTM staff and is an interpretation of the lifecycle of the Leishmania parasite, which is responsible for 60 000 deaths per year.

On the statue, images to represent the parasite, the sand flies that transmit the parasite and human hosts were fused with symbols inspired by Australian aboriginal art. The rear and side of the statue show the insects’ stomachs containing a blood meal with the purple parasites flowing out. The front features a woman, and the white wings and brown eyes of the deadly insect rise in the tail. Super‘kalazar’banana recently sold for £6000.