Antony Gormley’s Another Place
For ages I’ve been wanting to visit the beach where 100 cast iron, life-size figures stand looking out to sea. We had a false start earlier this year when we visited Formby instead of Crosby, but that was OK, because Formby offered red squirrels as compensation. Today we finally made it to Blundellsands in Crosby.
We drove around Crosby for quite a while because Sefton Council seems to feel that signposts are a distraction to drivers who should obviously be concentrating on the road. However, some friendly locals pointed us in the right direction so we found the beach in the end. The weather was warm and sunny, but with a good strong breeze coming off the sea making it pleasant to move around instead of warm and sticky.
It was worth the drive. The figures are, for want of four years in art school learning how to describe these things, really cool! Apparently they are made from casts of Antony Gormley’s own body - he seems to be of average height with a slim build. Those near the dunes seem unfinished - like half grown clones. They are a bit rusty, but otherwise lack any individuality. In contrast, those that spend much of their time submerged in the sea are covered in barnacles and seaweed and seem to have each developed their own character and claimed their place in the world. I think they are a spectacular piece of public art. But then the same is true of the Angel of the North in Gateshead.
