Antony Gormley FIELD FOR THE BRITISH ISLES

ANTONY GORMLEY BIO : >Antony Gormley was born to German mother and an Irish father on August 30 th >He first began to explore his passion when he travelled to India and Sri Lanka to learn more about Buddhism, this could have had a big influence on the ideas behind his work. >Gormley then went onto study at three of the best art colleges: Central St Martins, Goldmsiths & UCL. >His career began in 1981 with most of his work exploring the relation of the human body to space at large, typically using large-scale installations. His most famous piece is the’ Angel of the North’. >Gormley's work transforms a site of subjective experience into one of collective projection. >Gormley has achieved many awards: 1997: Made an officer of the British Empire. 1994:Turner Prize 1999: South Bank prize for Visual Art 2007: Bernhard Heiliger Award for Sculpture 1997: Made an officer of the British Empire.

FIELD : FOR THE BRITISH ISLES What is 'field'? Anthony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles' consists of 40,000 small clay figures, that are all facing the viewer, filling a large space, often spilling out of the door. The British Isles version of 'Field' is one of many versions of this temporary piece of work, that moves around to different locations in order to be arranged and displayed differently. The meaning behind it: The Field project shows Anthony Gormley's way of looking at human presence. The sitting and arrangement of Gormley's other projects usually tend to be precise, however in this instance the figures fill the entire space. Field deals with the world of made up things (objects & bodies) but also of space and consciousness. It presents singular image of humanity, as we stand on the threshold of their territory and we cannot walk around or between them. They manage to hold us at bay, yet they are only small lumps of clay once made by us.

Why? His works explore 'what it is to have a mind, what it is to occupy our bodily place in the world and through experience to become a being of full consciousness'. The artist explains Field as not being the subject but the viewer being it's subject as it is a 'field of gazes brought to life by the creators.‘ The specific configuration is changed to suit each location that field is placed in. The miniature figures are always placed to form a dense carpet with each figure looking towards the viewer. Ideally the Field is extended through a doorway or round a corner, so that the figures going out of sight leave the impression of an unlimited structure. Field has resulted in some people believing that it was unfair for Gormley to pass the work of the Texca family as his own. Some of the statues were stolen as a result of this. “Field is like a living organism like water it settles in a place and doesn't organise it.”

MAKING THE STATUES -Gormley's thousands of tiny statues were made by around 100 people,ages between 7 & 70 in 1993.They were pupils and their extended families, of two local schools in St Helens. -Each volunteer was given a portion of the 30 tonnes of clay required, along with some loose instructions specifying the rough size and proportions for the figures. -An accidental feature of the original Field was that Texca family involved people aged from 6 to 60 working on the figures, which is why Gormley felt that the involvement of three generations of a family should be continued in all the subsequent versions. -This method of production enabled the public to engage with his project and feel as though they have been a part of it.Antony Gormley describes the process as ' each one of these works comes from a lived moment. It is a materialisation of a moment of lived time, in the same way that my other work is a materialisation of a lived moment in time, and they have a very particular presence'. -Even though Gormley does not make all of his sculptures he still enjoys the project and likes the idea of,' the picnic feel', shared space and doing- things-together atmosphere' -Once made, the statues are set up in their venue by volunteers from the area it is being displayed in, making it a very publicly involved project, which the appearance of will differ each time it is relocated.

LOCATIONS: - Since the Arts Council Collection acquired Field in 1995, the work has been seen in venues as diverse as a disused railway shed, a church, cathedral cloisters,art galleries and an empty department store. -From the work toured to the following UK venues: Oriel Mostyn, Gwynedd, Wales; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England and the National Gallery of Wales, Cardiff Barrington Court held the 'Field of the British isles' in 2012, and ran workshops allowing the public to become a part of the work, by making their own figurines. The figures here were spread across three rooms making it the largest space they had so far occupied.

Similar work/inspiration: >Platoons of clay soldiers were buried with China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, to accompany him during his eternal rest. >They were uncovered when Workers digging a well outside the city of Xi'an, China, in 1974 struck upon them, making it one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world: a life-size clay soldier poised for battle. >They found not one, but thousands of clay soldiers, each with unique facial expressions and positioned according to their rank. >Although they are largely grey today, patches of paint hint at the once brightly coloured clothes that they wore. >The terra-cotta army, as it is known, is part of an elaborate mausoleum created to accompany the first emperor of China into the afterlife, according to archaeologists. Eternal army of China's first emperor

Gormleys first Field Asian Field-2003 American Field tour-1992 Versions of 'Field': Amazonian Field (1991) made in Brazil (approx. 24,000 figures) Field for the British Isles (1993) made in St Helens Uk (approx.40,000 figures) European Field (1993) made in Sweden (approx. 40,000 figures) Asian Field (2003) made in Peoples Republic of China (approx. 190,000 figures) Asian Field (2004) made in Tokyo Japan (approx. 200,000 figures) Field for the Art Gallery of New South Wales (1989)

Antony Gormley- UK Tour