Another Place

I've read about Sir Antony Gormley's Another Place on various blogs. You can read what Snowbird wrote on her Men of Iron - Another Place and Summer Sizzlers posts on her Gardens & Wildlife blog, what Angel Jem wrote on her Another Time... Another Place... post on her Angel Jem's City Cottage blog and more recently, what Travel Knitter wrote on her After The Show post on her Travel Knitter blog.

As Mick had taken the last week in August off work, we decided that one of the places we'd like to visit would be Crosby Beach where one hundred life size iron men stand looking out to sea. Sir Antony Gormley used casts of his own body to create these figures and each one weighs 650 kilos. He says: "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, 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."

You wouldn't say that Crosby Beach was a beautiful place, it's very industrial with cargo ships sailing by and a wind farm off in the distance, but it's a fascinating place with all these figures in different stages rising out of the sand.

Some of the figures have been clothed by visitors to the beach, it was quite eerie watching the sea lap around this one as the clothing made this iron man seem more human.

Archie was very inquisitive. I've known him bark at statues before now, but he didn't in this case.

It was a blustery day and ripples were being made on the sand by the wind.

There were so many razor clam shells that you really couldn't avoid stepping on them.

This figure had been dressed in ladies clothing which Archie found most strange.

Unfortunately, the skirt got wet before the sea had come in. Naughty Archie.

I'm not sure that this iron man could swim. At least he's got something to keep him afloat when the tide comes in.

I really enjoyed my visit. I find this sculpture very thought provoking and it's one of those which will definitely have different meanings to different people.

Whilst we were in the area, we took advantage and headed off to a place we've wanted to visit for a long time. I'll tell you all about it in my next post.