Unsettling sculpture - Another Place by Antony Gormley
At Crosby Beach, Merseyside, a hundred cast-iron, life-size figures of one naked man stare out across the water. Called "Another Place", this is a piece of modern sculpture by Sir Antony Gormley.
The figures are modelled on the artist's own naked body, spread out over a two-mile stretch of beach between Waterloo and Blundellsands. Each figure is 6 ft 2 inches tall. As the tides ebb and flow, the figures are revealed and submerged by the sea, and are subject to corrosion by seawater and colonisation by marine animals.
The statues have proved controversial, with some contending that naked male statues on a beach are inappropriate. Water sports enthusiasts and the coastguard expressed safety concerns. The statues had been exhibited in several other places around the world before arriving on Merseyside on 1st July 2005.
Originally, the statues were due to be relocated once more in November 2007. Art lovers and local businesses lobbied for the statues to stay, as the art installation has resulted in increased tourism to the beach. Gormley himself supported the proposal to keep the statues at Crosby Beach, saying the location was "ideal".
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council decided on 7th March 2007 that the sculptures should be permanently installed at the beach.
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