Belfast Palm House adopts 'monster'

Something strange has been stirring in the undergrowth of one of Belfast’s most beautiful parks over the past week or so.

Visitors who have strayed too far off the beaten path may well have found themselves coming face to face with a mysterious monster, which has taken up residence in the Palm House in the city’s Botanic Gardens.

The world’s top botanists and zoologists have been consulted, to try and explain why the multi-coloured ‘GaudiLizard’ would wish to adopt the Palm House as its natural habitat. But they all have left baffled.

However, Belfast City Council has apparently solved the mystery – and revealed that that fearsome looking lizard is, in fact, totally harmless.

The ‘GaudiLizard’ has been presented to Botanic Gardens by the Visually Impaired (VIP) arts group of Open Arts, an arts and disability organisation which helps disabled people to enjoy creative activities. The sculpture is the result of six months’ work by five members of the group – three of whom are registered blind – working at the nearby Crescent Arts Centre with community artist, Tomás Finnegan.

The lizard itself is made from high-density polystyrene, carved using the hot knife process, covered in hundreds of tiles, donated by a local DIY chainstore.

“When the artists completed their project earlier this month, they were so pleased with the results that they wanted to place it on permanent display, and Botanic Gardens was delighted to accept their offer to make the Palm House the lizard’s new home,” commented Reg Maxwell, Area Manager with Belfast City Council’s Parks and Cemetery Services Section.

“Botanic Gardens already is one of Belfast’s most popular attractions, with both residents and visitors from near and far.? I have no doubt that this wonderful sculpture will prove a popular addition to this beautiful park,” he added.

The sculpture will be one of the centerpieces of the forthcoming ‘Enchanted Evenings’, which begin in Botanic Gardens tonight and continue until Sunday.

(MB/SP)