Antony Gormley

Description

Antony Gormley is one of several artists working in Peckham who are taking part in a scheme to regenerate the area with individually designed lamp-posts, pavements and other street furniture. These bollards, made to the height of more standard versions, are to be installed in the area where Gormley has his studio. Based on the forms of a simple oval, snowman, peg and penis, the bollards are cast in iron and are allowed to rust naturally.

Inevitably the reception of the proposed Bollards in Peckham was controversial, and reached the attention of the London press. Colin Freeman wrote in the Evening Standard in the wake of the local council withdrawing funding for the bollards, ... the council only realized there might be a problem when it looked at the four finalized designs, one of which it realized would be offensive... "We thought it might be controversial if the council provided funding for them, but the traders were willing to fund it so we felt that was OK," said a spokeswoman.' Ironically, the bollards do not require planning permission because of their standard size, and will be placed in Peckham.

Wilfred Cass purchased two sets of the bollards for Sculpture at Goodwood, where they are positioned down the length of the central roadway. The forms of the bollards are refined to basic symbols for the subjects they represent, and consequently have a startling presence. Their substantial volume and differing profiles harmonize through their regular height and even placement.

The bollards show a different aspect of Gormley's working method. Unlike the majority of his sculptures they are not casts of his own body, but pieces, which are designed to be both sculptural and functional.