ONE

I’ve recently become interested in British sculptor Antony Gormley and in particular his use of his own body as his main means of working. I really love his solitary figures and have been trying to work out what it is that attracts me to them and also sees some connection to my own work, or what I want to say through it. There is something about the isolation and frailty of them, even though they are anything but physically frail. I just realised that I like the anonymity of them and beauty of their featureless form. There is something too about the context in which they appear, ie. the real world and not just a gallery, which connects with who we are and says something about our lives, our situation.

Material is obviously important for Gormley, and its interesting to imagine how different one of his figures would look if it were more human, more lifelike, ie. a figure from Madame Tussauds. It makes me think about Jesus being born on earth, giving up his heavenly body, and exchanging it for one of a much simpler construction. I wonder if he felt out of place, like a metal man on a beach or stood on a hill with his arms stretched out while people danced around and took photos at his feet.



I guess it appeals to me because I often feel alone, and not just solitary, but different, maybe alienated. I don’t know what it is about me that just never seems to quite fit in with everyone else round about and I might as well be a rusting red figure on top of a tree trunk for the amount of community I feel or create.

But then again, the fact that none of us really fits in and none of us can really be ‘known’ by another is a thing we have in common and therefore a form of community, a shared humanity (or so I’ve been told).