Ship of Fools (Mixed media) by Neil Canavan
Born in Halifax, Yorkshire, 1948.
Lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Neil Canavan's sculpture involves a journey of three characters, each one symbolising a different aspect of myth and folklore. The elephant is taken from a classic Hindu story of how the world is held in place. The elephant is bearing the weight of a chameleon, which in Cypriot folklore has the ability to see the past and the future at the same time by using its eyes independently. The elephant therefore holds a creature that embodies our history and our hopes. The final character is the crow that has been an important figure in many cultures from ancient Mesopotania to North American Indian’s and symbolises a streetwise scavenger and survivor.