Shimabuku

I saw 'With Octopus' by the Japanese artist Shimabuku at an exhibition of Japanese art in London in 2001-2002. That was, among other things, the record of a trip the artist took, with an octopus, from the Seto Inland Sea in Japan to the Japan Sea round Japan. He 'imagined that this would be a major endeavor for an octopus, something like travelling in outer space for a human'. The octopus died en route, sadly.

I wondered what he'd been doing recently. The above is a still from 'Shimabuku's Fish and Chips', shown in Liverpool in 2006. He hasn't got any saner. Here's the pitch:

'Visiting Liverpool the artist discovered Scouse, the dish made of lamb, onions, potatoes and carrots that gives locals their name. Curious as to how its component parts, each from different counties within Great Britain, first came together, he sampled various recipes in eateries throughout the city. Pondering other British dishes he came to the nation's other great contribution to global cuisine – fish and chips. His film for the Biennial documents the fictional first encounter between the dish's constituents and sees the artist diving with fish while potatoes mysteriously fall from above. With the octopus, Shimabuku introduced the sea to the land, now it is time for the land to meet the sea.'