Sight for (dino)saur eyes: Ivan and Heather Morison's installation Luna Park appeared on Southsea Common literally overnight - as construction carried on under cover of darknessLife is usually a little slower on Southsea Common - home to a 'remarkable collection' of mature elm trees and the occasional travelling international circus.
But tomorrow visitors to the sleepy park might be shocked to discover a huge dinosaur casually standing on the mown grass.
The enormous animal is a creation by artistic duo Heather and Ivan Morison.
Created in the style of American roadside super-sculptures, and standing at just over 50ft tall, the beast - called Luna Park - is visible from miles around.
It is part of an exhibition by the Morisons called An Unreachable Country: A Long Way To Go - and the irony that the sculpture is not even based on a real dinosaur.
The artists explain in their website that their monster is based on the mythical 'Ultrasauros'.
'In the 1970s, Professor Jim Jensen discovered a set of giant bones [in Colorado, U.S.] that were believed to belong to Ultrasauros, the largest dinosaur ever,' the Morisons say.
'More than a decade later, however, it was revealed that his discovery was in fact a chimera made up of two different species; the Ultrasauros was an untruth.'
Dawn of the dinosaur: Luna Park - based on the mythical Ultrasauros - looms in the early morning light as bemused motorists pass by
Common sight: Later in the day, however, some joggers on the common has simply accepted the large sculptures presenceThe Morison's Luna Park, continues their recent investigations into the blurring of fact and fiction, and of 'creating events and sites that encourage viewers to pause and question their surroundings'.
There's no doubt that residents of Portsmouth and Southsea will be doing exactly that when they venture onto the common tomorrow.
The sculpture was made in a small rural village outside the city of Kragujevac in Serbia.
The construction team of engineers, welders, assemblers and model makers were all former employees of the Zastava car factory in the city.
Luna Park is made from a steel skeleton covered with a hard, coloured polyester shell.
The Ultrasauros will stand in place until October.
source :dailymail
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