Location: Liverpool Lime Street Underpass
Thirty years to the day after the UK re-release of the John Lennon classic, Happy Christmas (War is Over), Merseytravel have unveiled the second in its series of "Animate the Underground" artworks entitled "The Madness of King John"
The Madness of King John has been hand painted, by Southport based artist Grant Searl, using oil on canvas, and is the second in a series of five works to be sited across the network's underground stations. The Madness of King John took Grant a total of 214 hours to create, inspired by folklore and his passion for colour. The painting represents and reflects the artist’s love for surrealism and the Pre-Raphaelite style.
In Grant's words: This painting was inspired by the lyrics, words and thoughts of john Lennon. The picture is not a translation of any one song but a combination of his and my artistic imaginations. It is a personal look at a life which may have spanned only 40 years, but one which has had a profound and lasting influence on art and the world we know today.
Merseytravel 'Animate the Underground' commission will be made up of five pieces of visual art, each representing and reflecting very different themes. Each one will be accompanied by its very own riddle, which leads to a hidden word; when all five riddles have been solved they will form the basis of an answer to a very exciting ‘Art on the Network’ competition. All will be revealed in time, so watch this space!
Riddle:
This deception is from a world which still speaks to us today, in a place where all was a little more than play. King John himself did reside, and a lie came to be true no matter how hard he tried. So if you see through this clue, all should now be clear to you.