We've been enjoying a short 'staycation' this past week. A holiday which has been all about visiting places within a thirty mile radius of our door that we had never visited before. Today we piled the whippets into the car and headed for the beach at Crosby, twenty-nine miles to the north. We wanted to see Antony Gormley's sculptural installation, Another Place ... 100 cast iron replicas of the artist's body that stand along the shore there, facing the sea. A beach party with a twist!
Each iron man wears a numbered wrist tag, matches Gormley's 6 foot plus height, and weighs in at 650 kg. Placed at irregular intervals along a two mile stretch of coast, many of the figures are completely submerged at high tide. Exposed to every kind of weather, to light, to salt water, to bird and barnacle, they have been textured by time, their contours blurred. Some, Ozymandias like, are half-buried in the sand.
It is not unusual for the iron men to be 'dressed' by those who come to see them. We found one with a mohawk and a goatee made of sand, another wearing a tatty plastic rain coat. In the past, we were told, they have been given balloons to hold, crowns of seaweed, sunglasses. But, knowing the affection many people feel for them, I was most struck by the friendship bracelet circling the wrist of number 81.
I had thought I might frame an arty intellectual response to Another Place, but frankly I'm struggling. I could write about the artist's use of the human body as motif - his own "particular and peculiar" body - or his fascination with the relationship between bodies and the spaces they occupy. But, unexpectedly, I was affected by the iron men emotionally, even viscerally. The figures look to new horizons - Gormley has talked of emigration and "the human need to imagine another life in another place" - but to the onlooker they seem more watchmen than potential wayfarers. They stand sentinel, and their presence is a hugely powerful one.
We were there at low tide in the late afternoon, the sun dropping into the sea. Next time we will visit when the tide is higher and the morning sun is at our backs, looking for another Another Place ! I wonder if the iron men have ever been yarn bombed? Do I dare, do you think?
Further reading on Gormley's work here.
*Sorry, I just couldn't resist!
Keep those photographs coming, Annie! Cheeky picture aside, I am struck by how uncannily real that profile looks.
ReplyDeleteIt looks as if you have fairly good weather too. I'm glad.
I love those figures at Crosby - and, in fact, most of Gormley's work.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic idea, all the benefits of a vacation without the added expense, brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThe sculptures are wonderful, and what lovely light you had too and yes, I must comment on the bottom - I do wish mine was as pert as that!!
LOL! I never thought Antony Gormley's bottom would be so entertaining on a Sunday morning! Great post Annie and keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteKaren
Sometimes we miss what is just on our 'doorstep', so it's a great idea to look around your own patch!
ReplyDeleteYour title did make me smile. :)
Vivienne x
Annie, your photos are terrific. And thanks for the link on Gormley, very educational. Great post as usual, much enjoyed!
ReplyDeleteI don't know which one I like more, the head or the bottom. But here is what I thought looking at your photos: I once met a blind man and he told me how I could imagine to be blind like he was. He sait that he was totally blind and would see as much as I would see with my bottom.
ReplyDeleteThere is something compelling about this installation. More photos when Blogger allows, yes?
ReplyDelete'Another Place' to add to the list of places-to-go...I wonder if I'll ever get to the 'bottom' of the list!
ReplyDeleteHi Annie..with winter coming on those men definitely need beanies and scarves..I hope you (and your friends perhaps?) will oblige! I am also thinking I may have a few bits of iron in me..hence my kilo advantage!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos & fascinating post! And I just love the idea of having a "staycation" :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me to your beach. The sculptures are gorgeous. I am so thrilled when I experience sculptures in Nature. Every other year there is an exhibition in my home town, called :Sculpture by the Sea" A spectacular three-kilometer long coast line transformed into a giant sculpture park of 65 sculptures by artists from 22 countries all over the world. The many unique sculptures can be seen both on the beach, the waterfront and in the forest"
ReplyDeleteDuring the month this exhibition is a subject of conversation with everyone you meet, friends and people at the bus stop all have an opinion of the exhibitions.
Annie,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting art installation. That must be really something to see. 100 6 foot plus tall bodies along a beach? Is it a moving or permanent exhibit? I did go to the link and read about how he casts them...and then had to keep reading to see who or how he did this...apparently he has two assistants, but I missed the part about how long it will be at this beach. Your photographs are beautiful. I like that someone added a friendship bracelet too.
annie
Lovely snaps. One day I'll make it that far north again, because I would very much like to see these. Having read your excellent link, I'm amazed at how long ago it was I saw his sculptures all around the river and Hayward Gallery. Very ethereal.
ReplyDeletenice botty ;o)
ReplyDeleteseriously though they are incredible, gorgeous photos..thank you for such a treat
jooles x
Some of these comments had me laughing aloud!
ReplyDelete@ Vivienne ... exactly, that's what we thought, and we loved discovering bits of the area we'd somehow missed or simply hadn't got around to visting. Hubby hopefully has another week off work in October and we may skip booking somewhere last minute and do the same again. There are certainly plenty more possibilities within that thirty mile radius!
@ Mette ... I've heard of that event ... I would love to visit it one year :)
@ Carol ... plans are afoot ;) Although it will probably be something very small scale.
@ the other Annie ... the iron men are now permanently installed on Crosby beach. It's not a pretty place - it's close to Bootle docks and the back end of Liverpool - so having Gormley's installation there has given the area a much needed tourist attraction. It's a very appropriate place for them to be ... looking out across the shipping routes that so many folk have followed down the years when leaving the UK for the US, Australia and elsewhere.
@ anyone who hasn't tried a 'staycation', I'd highly recommend it :D
Lovely photos and a lovely posting!
ReplyDeleteJune
I had a fantastic year in Liverpool in 1992/93, but never ventured to Crosby beach. Now I want to go back just to see the iron men!! Your photos are almost as good as being there, thanks alot from downunder!
ReplyDeleteI love these statues. They came to New York and were placed on the rooftops around Madison Square Park. They looked like jumpers (the emergency services had to send out warnings that they weren't). But I understand completely how powerful you felt they are. Amazing. (And bizarrely, I was looking Another World up just this morning as Mr. P pointed out a picture of the QM2 sailing past the statues on the way into Liverpool.) C.x
ReplyDeleteNot another Annie! I have just found you from your comment. I love Anthony Gormley and his bottom. I will investigate (google) further!
ReplyDeleteWe've always been fond of Antony - we used to live near the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and enjoyed seeing his work there - but these standing figures are truly amazing.
ReplyDeleteLOVE your blog - you are so creative and so funny!
Another Annie
xx
I thought of yarn bombing too - a nice scarf would be just the thing when winter comes. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely photographs.
I think I saw these men dotted around the skyline on the South Bank in London. At the sea's edge they remind me of the Easter Island statues.
ReplyDelete