Masterworks will tomorrow unveil a sculpture created in honour of John Lennon.The art gallery decided to recognise the late Beatles legend as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.Tomorrow’s unveiling comes 32 years after the release of Lennon’s album ‘Double Fantasy’.The album, which was inspired by the musician’s trip to the Island, was his last before his 1980 assassination.Designed by Graham Foster the sculpture will sit in Masterworks’ courtyard at the Botanical Gardens. It has been kept hidden since it was moved there two weeks ago.The sculpture measures around 9ft and weighs approximately 2,000lbs. It was built out of Core-ten, a type of steel suited to Bermuda’s climate.“There weren’t any challenges to get it into place,” said Masterworks founder Tom Butterfield. “Fast Forward Freight and DeCosta Construction did a super job in helping it all go smoothly. Erecting a 2,000lb statue was something we had never done before, obviously, but we were working with the best and it all went without a hitch.“We’ve had a tremendous response from the public to this event, and a high level of interest from our members which is wonderful. It truly is a unique occasion we are hosting here at Masterworks, and we hope to see a good crowd here to support it.”Mr Foster said when he designed the sculpture, he wanted identifiable imagery and to steer clear of the ‘typical’ things associated with John Lennon such as peace signs and doves.“I decided to approach the sculpture in an expressionistic way,” he said. “For the design I started sketching and ended up with around 100 ideas, which I then narrowed down to about 20. These were sent to Yoko Ono, and she agreed with the concepts. I then began working towards a final version. The main iconic Lennon imagery I decided to work with were his stylised profile with glasses, the Rickenbacker guitar, doves and freesias (to highlight the Bermuda connection).”During the John Lennon tribute event, one treat will be a video greeting from Yoko Ono, widow of Mr Lennon.“That is pretty exciting, but other than that we’ll hope for good weather and a good turn out from the public,” said Mr Butterfield.Event organiser and music promoter Tony Brannon has arranged the concert and a special tribute CD with music sung by local artists.He is particularly excited because he almost met Mr Lennon in a nightclub while he was on the Island.Visiting Bermuda is said to have sparked Mr Lennon’s musical genius, which had stalled with the demands of being a stay-at-home dad to his young son, Sean. Within just six weeks Mr Lennon wrote and completed 25 songs, breaking the five year diaper block. ‘Double Fantasy’ was named for a freesia flower he saw in the Botanical Gardens. The album was particularly poignant because he was shot and killed in 1980, just as his career was making a comeback.The actual identity of the flower that Mr Lennon saw at the Botanical Gardens has been somewhat controversial since Masterworks first announced they were unveiling the statue. Several people have come forward to dispute whether Mr Lennon saw a freesia and suggested he might have seen a hibiscus or an orchid.The statue will eventually be surrounded by double fantasy freesias.Neville Richardson, curator of the Botanical Gardens put the kibosh on rumours that the flower had been anything other than a freesia. He said the double fantasy freesias were planted at the Botanical Gardens in the 1980s.“The collection got out of hand, and the flowers eventually died out,” said Mr Richardson. “They were originally from England.”Botanical Gardens staff ordered double fantasy freesias from Japan. The flowers will be planted this autumn and should bloom next spring.A special art exhibition dedicated to Lennon is also in the works. Imagine the Art of John Lennon will include a selection of lithographs from Lennon’s Bag One Portfolio. The pieces are centred around his 1970 wedding in Gibraltar to Yoko Ono. The exhibit will also include posthumous limited edition prints signed by Yoko Ono.Said Mr Butterfield: “The images are a cross-section of peace-themed drawings, the Real Love drawings he created for his son, Sean, and serigraphs created from John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics from the ‘Double Fantasy’ album, many of which carry his handwritten ‘Fairyland, Bermuda’ notation. Several of the prints capture his dark sense of whimsy and wit.”The exhibit opens in the Rick Faries Gallery tomorrow and runs through July 4.A tribute concert will be held on September 21, the International Day of Peace. Local artists will join reggae singer Maxi Priest for the event. Full concert details can be found on www.doublefantasybermuda.com; tickets are available from www.ptix.bm.Tomorrow’s unveiling begins with a cocktail reception at Masterworks at 5.30pm. The sculpture will be unveiled at 6pm.There will also be a release of an EP sampler of four songs from the John Lennon Bermuda Tribute CD being arranged by Mr Brannon. For more information check out www.doublefantasybermuda.com or call Masterworks on 299-4000.