2003-05-21

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Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | Empty vessels

The fabrication of Antony Gormley's newest work, Domain Field, has been taking place in public at Baltic in Gateshead since February. Locals of all ages came to be cast: to undress and giggle or feel apprehensive at being wrapped in clingfilm, slathered in Vaseline, wound in hessian scrim and caked in wet plaster. The opened casts piled up, then welders worked in the brittle cavities, wedging and welding slender steel bars into the space where a body once was. The public has been able to watch the lengthy proceedings from an upper-level mezzanine overlooking the gallery. Several times I stood on the balcony in one crowd, looking down on the making of another.