Giant robot spider ominously eyes Liverpool

A 30-foot tall, 37-ton robotic spider is arachnously clinging to the side of a Liverpudian office building.

Created by French company La Machine, the installation cost £1.8million to bring to Liverpool – and all but £250,000 of this was funded by the taxpayer.
The story behind the artwork is that French 'scientists' have arrived in the city to investigate it.

They will use cranes to remove the animal off the tower block, before taking it to their 'research base' in Liverpool's new concert venue, the Echo Arena.

There, the creature will undergo a series of experiments, allowing the team to show off special effects using water, fire and artificial snow.

The local octogenarians seem to like it. Quoth Eric Wilson from West Derby: "It's novel, I think some will like it." High praise indeed! As a non-Liverpudian, I certainly like it, but I imagine any hopes of a clockwork robot spider stalking Liverpool — capturing horrified pedestrians in sticky hydraulic webbing and draining them to husks — will quickly be dashed.

The 30ft mechanical spider terrorising Liverpool [Daily Mail]

9 Comments

bazzargh

#1 – 2:17 AM September 4, 2008

They need to make them blue and invisible.

Bugs

#2 – 2:48 AM September 4, 2008

@1
...at the same time!

zero_zero_one

#3 – 4:01 AM September 4, 2008

I walked out the wrong exit of the station yesterday morning and missed it - this morning I went to see and took some pictures. It is huge, the pictures I'd seen really don't do it justice...

...and at the back of my mind is a tiny fear that when it "wakes up" tomorrow it will go on a rampage...

strider_mt2k

#4 – 4:45 AM September 4, 2008

Terrific

Mindpowered

#5 – 12:45 PM September 4, 2008

The rest of the northwest from Chester to Cockermouth is quietly sniggering into their pints that the Scouse have paid over 1.5 million quid for spider. Which doesn't do anything. From the frogs for godsake. Again.

bbonyx

#6 – 2:02 PM September 4, 2008

Any comments from Kevin Smith?

mdhatter

#7 – 2:14 PM September 4, 2008

Did anyone spot a blue Police Box about?

monstrinho_do_biscoito

#8 – 7:29 AM September 5, 2008

and speaks like a squeaky child :D

giselleboingboing

#9 – 1:33 AM September 17, 2008

I've recently posted a new giant spider of Liverpool video: