KEY POINTS:
There's nothing like a giant sperm in the heart of your city to spice things up.
Fertile-minded onlookers were intrigued yesterday by the 25m fibreglass sculpture, Darwin, by Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout, though most could not conceive what it was all about.
Part of the six-week SCAPE 2008 Christchurch Biennial of Art, the sculpture in the city's Cathedral Square is aimed at making people think about issues such as evolution, natural selection and genetic manipulation.
"But I also just want to make a nice sculpture," Mr van Lieshout said.
Although he modelled it on a sperm, Mr van Lieshout admits that if he saw it for the first time himself, he might not recognise the purple sculpture that way.
"Probably if I had made it white, people would say 'oh'."
Designer Beth Wogan, 20, found it interesting and "quite outrageous" as she relaxed on its tail yesterday.
"It's comfortable and calming."
Anyone who found it offensive should stay at home.
The Dean of Christchurch Cathedral, Peter Beck, was not opposed to it being near the cathedral's doorstep.
"It certainly makes you think."
The sculpture is designed so people can fit inside the head.
It is a theme Mr van Lieshout obviously enjoys - his previous works include a house in a womb, and a bar in a digestive system.
