Next week, on 29 June, the artist will be joined by writer and broadcaster Tim Marlow for a special talk at St. George’s Hall.
This summer marks the 10th anniversary of Another Place, one of the UK’s most widely recognised public artworks, by artist Antony Gormley. Another Place was first brought to Crosby Beach by Liverpool Biennial in partnership with South Sefton Partnership in 2005.
The artwork comprises 100 iron sculptures cast from a mould of the artist’s own body, dispersed along 2.5km of beach and 1km out to sea. The iconic sculptures face the horizon and evoke the relationship between the natural elements, space and the human body. The movement of local tides and daily weather conditions dictate whether the figures are visible or submerged.
First exhibited at other locations in Europe the work was secured for Merseyside in 2007 and is now permanently installed at Crosby Beach. It has become a cultural destination, attracting an additional 350,000 visitors per year to the local area.
Antony Gormley said “I always wanted this to be an open work. The sculptures that comprise Another Place are not statues of ideal or heroic figures from history, they are simply copies of my own body that I used to indicate a human space in space at large. In 2005, when the works were first installed on Crosby, I loved the way they took their place so well amongst the great drainage outflow pipes, the estuary and the passing ships. Here was a beach where art and life intermingled, where questions would naturally arise of ‘who we are’, ‘where do we come from’ and ‘where are we going’?”
“What I couldn’t imagine was that Another Place would prove to be a resonator for the thoughts, feelings and hopes of so many people from Merseyside, the UK and the world. It is wonderful that it has found a place in the memory and imaginations of so many, from the solitary winter walker to the myriad summer time families, and that the barnacles have made it their watery home. I look forward to the next years of Another Place.”
Born in London in 1950, Antony Gormley is widely acclaimed for his sculptures, installations and public artworks that investigate the relationship of the human body to space. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and other major public works include Angel of the North (1998) in Gateshead and Exposure (2010) in Lelystad, The Netherlands. Gormley won the Turner Prize in 1994 and was knighted in 2014.
Antony Gormley in Conversation with Tim Marlow takes place Monday 29 June, 6.30pm at St. George’s Hall. Tickets (£5 / £3 concs) available from www.biennial.com