I was going to mention this public artwork when it first appeared last October, I took a couple of snaps but then it disappeared. The scaffolding needed strengthening apparently. Now its back and meanwhile I met up with the artist, Moira Kenny who has sent me these pictures and the full story.
The posting is longer than usual for this blog but do please read the full article, its fascinating.
 

Seel St/Slater St
Chinese Reflection by Moira Kenny

I work with ideas.
As a Liverpool girl I spent my childhood exploring derelict buildings and air raid shelters in the TA barracks on Aigburth Road and playing on the Cast Iron Shore fondly known as the Cassey. While I was jumping over rafters and crawling down holes, my mother thought I was at Mass or safely playing in Dingle swings.
I had and have as a visual artist a fascination with the city, the new and the old, the buildings and their roots below the ground.

At a very early age I was aware of territories. I was born into and live in a City that has unseen boundaries, districts, religion, race, a City that lives by its own limitations.
At the age of 11 I was chased out of tenements with my sketch pad and pencil I wanted to capture the intimacy of the people in comparison to the scale of the buildings with the landings and the doors and the washing hanging from lines. I was a good runner.

At University I was criticised for big ideas, disappearing into the City instead of making use of the studio. I wanted to wrap a building like Christo, I wanted to cover derelict spaces with words and images. Think Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger.
I was criticised for working with the familiar as I based my work on the City and migration and settlement of the people, setting myself limitations when in fact I was crossing boundaries.

Three or four years ago I started working in Chinatown as a base and invited other artists, writers and architects, property developers and health professionals to meet and discuss the movements of people, art regeneration, questions were raised such as What is a museum? Is it something static or something we move through? Why put art inside a building why not project it onto a building use technology or use the frontage of the buildings to enable people to take in the images as they work or live, shop or stagger past? And why is Chinatown in Liverpool just half a street of decaying buildings? And why do funders ask us “but you’re not Chinese...”

Callum Moncrieff and I worked on the concept of setting up a Contemporary Art gallery in the area, a 24 Hour Exhibition Space with a fast turn over of shows and artists in residence. (Watch this space) that is how Chinapool Arts & Culture Organisation evolved.
Wendy Dixon at Frenson lent us two buildings in Chinatown to develop the concept.
Rob Macdonald JMU wrote a module for his Architecture students to design a Contemporary Art Centre based on the buildings 40-42 Nelson Street. We showed hundreds of people around the building visualised the space and created the future Art Space for L1.

We were working voluntarily in the Wah Sing working closely with the Headmaster who recognised the changing economic situation of China and the work ethic of the Chinese people in the City had pushed the traditional practice of Art and philosophy into the background of their lives. He expressed concerns for the cultural future of the young generations of Chinese who are encouraged to work in law and medicine rather than the creative industries. We offered to set up a Contemporary Chinese Art Centre in Chinatown working with partners both in and outside of the City and obviously directly with China.

I asked Wendy for a building to wrap and she kindly offered the building on the corner of Seel Street/Slater St. This building is part of the Liverpool Echo Stop the Rot Campaign. The building is situated in an ideal site in the Liverpool Rope Walks, opening the boundaries of Chinatown. The building would highlight the Chinese Community; recognise the oldest Chinese community in Europe. At the same time the wrap would highlight the building itself, ironically by covering the scaffolding the site would become a landmark, a node. And don’t forget I would satisfy my ego by working on a large scale within my own limitations of the City!

Note that it could have been used for advertising which would have made Frenson lots of money but it is used for Art purposes on the short term. On the long term it will be renovated.

John Thompson the former Building at Risk officer at Liverpool City Council shared our Vision. Liverpool Vision supported the development of the concept through to realising the project. The research and photographs took three years to complete. The Chinese writing on the Slater Street side is taken from the Chinese arch.
Many other people were involved or touched by this work. Thanks to all.

I worked voluntarily on the project, (Note to Council Tax recovery letter writers) That’s why I am now looking for a job and giving up this voluntary lark, disillusioned at the prospect of an artist being a sustainable practice. I shall have to join the other professional artists who teach or work in a supermarket. But that’s another story.

Frenson paid many thousands for the scaffolding to fit the work and Liverpool City Council was paying for the print of the photomontage. But the money was allocated to something else.
The Culture Co stepped in and kindly paid for the work to be printed.
The majority of the Chinese people in the City are pleased with the outcome but hey you can’t please everyone!

However I lost my ‘building wrap’
I am not recognised as a female artist working on the cutting edge, having produced the largest sculptural public building work outside Barcelona.

It is described as banners. I have produced more fucking banners that are cropping up all over the city. At least mine are described as pretty, post feminism an’ all I should be happy I suppose.

Is anyone interested in setting up a Public Art forum to discuss public sculpture the development of the city etcetera? Why is no one available to comment on work other than employees of the CC when there are Universities in the City with experts in fine Art, built environment and Architecture? Why aren’t people being cultivated in the City? And why isn’t work recognised as to its worth and value? Maybe we could change the situation?