World-famous sculptor and Turner Prize winner Sir Antony Gormley's first ever public sculpture commission Places to Be returned home to Peterborough in 2018, this time located within the skyline of the city centre, specifically at the rooftops of Queensgate Shopping Centre, Leeds Building Society, and Norwich & Peterborough Building Society.
Quoting from a Vivacity leaflet on the return of Places to Be, Sir Antony Gormley said:
Places to Be was my first public commission. It is wonderful that it is being re-sited on a striking modern horizontal parapet, a Victorian corner tower, and the 18th century roof line around the Market Square in the centre of Peterborough. I am very proud of this work and am delighted that with Vivacity's help it will again be part of the collective life of the town.
Places to Be was acquired by Peterborough Development Corporation in 1984 and then cared for by Peterborough Sculpture Trust. In 2015, Vivacity took it under its care and worked with Gormley to restore the piece in preparation for its re-siting last year.
The work was first located at Monkstone House Offices (now Greenwoods Solicitors), which was the old headquarters of Peterborough Development Corporation. In the early 2010s I worked in one of the buildings (used to be that of Land Registry) near Monkstone House and it would have been a great everyday sight during my walk to the office if it has stayed there up to those years.
The life-size sculptures were later moved to Thorpe Meadows, near the rowing lake in 1988. However, the figures were vandalised in 2006 and were removed and held in storage since 2007 until Vivacity took over its care and restored it for re-siting in 2018.
Gormley’s sculptures investigate the relationship between the human body to space. His placement of his sculptures draws attention to spaces that are otherwise overlooked or ignored. His Peterborough artwork Places to Be is part of the Three Part Lead Bodycase Works, 1981 - 1984 series. It is composed of three lead coated life-size figures in three different stances - a figure with one arm shielding himself from the sun, a figure with arms outstretched and a striding figure with arms by its side.
I am intrigued with the figure with arms outstretched as it reminded me of the famous symbol of my university alma mater in the Philippines. When University of Peterborough opens in 2022 and adopts this figure as its symbol I guess there will be another UP Oblation in the future. Who knows?
Places to Be have been part of the urban landscape of Peterborough city centre since 2018 and I always look for it or glance on it every time I am in the area, especially on my way to the office to work. I wonder how many people does that when they are in town?
All photos were taken with a micro four thirds camera (https://amzn.to/2Qjtg8h) attached with a telephoto zoom lens (https://amzn.to/32TeGWA).
Note: I took the photos in this article on the same day I visited Peterborough Cathedral to see Luke Jerram's travelling artwork Gaia.
Photo gallery
