Another Place

I was heading north and didn’t want to do the whole journey in one go. Not sure if you all do this, but I wanted to stop somewhere that might have something photographically interesting nearby. My research narrowed things down to Liverpool, not the lively city centre that would be amazing to do with company, but a quieter corner. I love other people’s art and I am often inspired by other peoples view of the world. I decided to visit Antony Gormley’s Another Place installation at Crosby beach.

I have brought almost every camera and lens that I own with me for my trip to Scotland, as well as a variety of thermal and waterproof clothing with me. (I will not be caught out like I was in Ireland). I’m pleased that I have packed it all as the blue skies disappear and the rain starts. I head straight for the beach with visions of an interesting, relaxing walk along the front with my cameras.

Reality is a little different, its overcast, with some stunning clouds as the sun sets and the tide’s in. AND it’s WINDY and wet! The kind of wind that you can lean on and big drops of rain. I decide that I will still walk along the front and hope that I can find just the right angle to make the most of the view. The wind and weather take my breath away and make me laugh. There aren’t many other people doing battle with the weather. The birds seem to love the wind though.

Another Place consists of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along three kilometres of the Crosby foreshore, stretching almost one kilometre out to sea. Each one weighing 650 kilos – they are made from casts of the artist's own body standing on the beach, all of them looking out to sea, staring at the horizon in silent expectation. They are quite thought provoking, especially those that are standing chest deep in sand and sea. I think someone has put a t-shirt on one, its fluttering in the wind making you take a second look just to be sure that it isn’t someone in trouble.

According to Antony Gormley, Another Place harnesses the ebb and flow of the tide to explore man's relationship with nature. He explains: The seaside is a good place to do this. Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of sky seems to question the earth's substance. In this work human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet.

Crosby beach is a non-bathing beach with areas of soft sand and mud and a risk of changing tides. I am totally amazed at the speed at which the tide retreats. As it withdraws it leaves sand full of texture. The sun and sky are reflected in trapped water that shimmer in the wind. The colours are spectacular:  blues, teals, purples, oranges and gold. I think, the figures in silhouette add yet another dimension. I try a number of different combinations of the number of statues in my photos. And hope that the rain doesn’t cause too many droplets on the lens or indeed damage the camera.

My favourite turns out to be this one with just a single figure. Lonely in its struggle against the storm, but I think there’s something very hopeful with the sunlight breaking through the clouds. It’s printed on metallic paper which make the colours really pop and the texture almost tactile.

Writing this blog means that I have revisited these photographs amd I think that the image at the top of the page will become a new print, with its big clouds and dazzling sun set. Let me know what you think.