Making the most of the sun last weekend, we took a trip out to the beach. I have been wanting to visit Crosby Beach for some time to go see Antony Gormley's 'Another Place'. The collection of a 100 standing iron men sculptures has now been in residence there for 10 years(!). So glad to have finally seen it!
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| ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA |
above: view out to sea of another place by antony gormley at crosby beach
I have mixed feeling about Antony Gormley's work. On the face of it, the work seems quite self interested - most of his sculptures (if not all) are based on his own figure. I'm not particularly keen on the Angel of the North situated by Gateshead, or at least the naming of it. To me it appears a sad angel that will never fly, permanently stuck in some rusty industrial time, never progressing. That's not how I imagine the 'North'.
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| ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA |
top: one of the 100 standing men in another place by antony gormley, middle: crosby beach vista, bottom: standing man's view out to sea
'Another Place' is a much more successful piece. Crosby is the ideal home for this work. The iron material the figures are made from links up well with the surrounding industrial architecture. Crosby isn't a friendly bathers holiday beach. It's wind swept, unkempt, vast and dangerous in parts - with soft sand and risk of changing tides.
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| STANDING MEN | ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA |
top: close up of one of the standing men, bottom: barnacled legs
The figures are positioned permanently looking out to sea, their eyes and mouths are closed, giving them a wistful look. They look quite solemn, seemly contemplating life and being resolved to their fate whilst the sea slowly erodes them. One of the benefits of waiting a while to visit this piece is seeing how the figures have succumbed over time, now very rusty, barnacled & some sunken.
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| ANOTHER PLACE | CROSBY BEACH - IMAGES EMILY HAUCK KARIKA NOVA |
top: beach vista, middle: close up of one of the standing men, bottom: crosby beach
'Another Place' is an apt name for this work, it is other worldly. A place like no other.
'Another Place' is an apt name for this work, it is other worldly. A place like no other.
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