Antony Gormley's British Sculpture

Explore The Work of One of Britain’s Most Famous Living Sculptors

Jul 27, 2008 Chris Read

Antony Gormley is one of the most popular artists in Britain today. Discover his work by visiting two of his most famous works, Another Place and The Angel of the North.

Antony Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is famous for his public exhibitions of Sculpture. Many of his pieces consist of iron made casts of his own body, which he then displays amongst the landscape to dramatic effect.

While some of his work is displayed in temporary exhibitions, fortunately, Gormley has been commissioned to produce a number of permanent public works. This gives us a number of places to see his sculptures. Two of the most dramatic are Another Place near Liverpool, and The Angel of the North near Newcastle.

Antony Gormley’s Another Place

A permanent Gormley display can be found on the beach at Crosby, on the outskirts of Liverpool. Entitled Another Place, the display consists of 100 slightly larger than life casts of his body, dotted randomly on the beach at Crosby. Gormley’s men look dispassionately out to sea, and are sparsely spaced to the point where they look at least semi detached, if not alone.

The seafront light means that each visit exposes a different perspective on the statues. They have been in place since 1997, and while each is identical, salt erosion and seaweed deposits on the surface make each statue unique. Each statue has a wrist tag giving its number, which is eerily reminiscent of the way they identify anonymous dead bodies.

The shifting sands have also made a difference; some statues are now up to their knees in mud and sand, while others stand proud of the ground, with the three-meter spike that makes the statues hold firm, exposed Some have said Another Place looks almost like an alien invasion although the statues look out to sea.

Some light-hearted visitors have decorated the statues in clothes; look out for the one wearing the life jacket! The statues are dotted along a two-mile stretch of coast, although the statues furthest away to sea are difficult to reach in the muddy estuary. Any visitor will need to use common sense, keep to the firmer spits of sand, and keep a wary eye on the tide.

Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North

Erected in 1998, the Angel of the North was built to celebrate a rebirth of a formerly depressed mining community just south of Newcastle. At 66 foot high, the statue of the Angel is reputed to be the largest Angel in the world.

This is another mould of Gormley’s body, but this time projected much larger than life, and with an outstretched and extended aeroplane wing in place of arms. The statue welcomes drivers to the area, as she stands on a traffic island, on one of Newcastle’s main routes.

When built, there were fears that the sight of the Angel would provoke road traffic accidents, but these have proved unfounded. While most people today just drive past the Angel, there is a slip road and lay by to allow more interested visitors access to the base of the statue. There is only a small notice board explaining the construction of the Angel, but endless opportunities to take photographs.

Today, the Angel of the North is one of the countries best-loved sculptures, and helped cement Gormley’s reputation with the public.

While these are two of the most famous Gormley statues, there are others around, and Gormley often provides temporary exhibitions. You can get current information about Antony Gormley’s public displays on his web site.

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