Liverpool's iconic Superlambanana was removed on Sunday amid concerns the sculpture had become "tatty".
After spending over 20 years at his home on Tithebarn Street , the large, yellow, installation was taken away and replaced with a new being put in his place after complaints it was looking tired .
Earlier this year, ECHO readers described the sculpture as "tired and tatty" due to its chipped paint work and dull aesthetic.
Clearly in need of sprucing up, the Superlambanana last received a bright yellow makeover in 2016 thanks to Liverpool City Council and local artist Julian Taylor, who was involved in the original installation of the artwork.
Once under lease to the council, ownership of the 17ft artwork passed back to its Berlin-based creator, artist Taro Chiezo. with the council stating he was responsible for its upkeep.
The ECHO managed to make contact with Mr Chiezo in July, who blamed the council for letting the sculpture go to ruin but said he would not be replacing or removing the Lambanana from the city for upgrading.
But now it seems like an arrangement was met as video footage shows the run-down statue being removed from the city and replaced with a brand new one.
Speaking on Tithebarn Street, where the Superlambanana lives, Deputy Mayor of Liverpool , Wendy Simon, said: "It's great to be here looking at our original Superlambanana, over 20 years old, and as you can see he's needing a little bit of TLC.
"So at the weekend he is going to be taken away to get a little bit of looking after and pampering and there'll be a lovely new Superlambanana in his place, just in time for Christmas."
The Superlambanana was introduced to Liverpool in 1998 as part of the ArtTransPennine Exhibition, an initiative to create a ‘corridor of art’ through the North of England.
The sculpture is both a comment on the dangers of genetic engineering, and heavily influenced by the history of Liverpool: historically, both sheep and bananas were common cargos in the city’s docks.
Made of concrete, fibreglass and wire mesh, and weighing almost eight tonnes, the Superlambanana has been embraced by the people of Liverpool
