Antony Gormley sculptures - Stay

**Antony Gormley sculptures - Stay
by Celia Walker
**
Avon River, north of the Gloucester Street Bridge, and Northern Quadrangle, Christchurch Arts Centre
In the long haul disruption of the post-earthquake rebuild, the steady state of Antony Gormley’s Stay in the currents of the Avon River invites thoughtful contemplation, aided by the constantly shifting and disintegrating reflections on the surface of the river. This inward-looking tranquillity is still just a diversion from the city’s seemingly endless reformulating, re-orientating and reconstruction, more obviously so in surroundings of the second sculpture of the pair, in the Northern Quadrangle of the Christchurch Arts Centre. This second work was delayed in its installation by a year, to allow progress on repairs to the quake damaged Arts Centre, and the meticulous stonemasonry and heritage restoration process means that this process is still unfinished.

There was grumbling about cost at the time of the commission, even though the full cost was never disclosed as Gormley reportedly gave a heavy discount out of consideration for all that the city had experienced owing to the earthquakes.

Despite these contentious beginnings, the sculptures sit effortlessly in their surroundings, the tumbling block forms and warmth of the cast-iron echoing both built structures and natural finishes. Gormley’s characteristically human-scaled figures are very much in keeping with the English restraint of the city, with their slightly stooped, humble stance. In a media quote at the time of their inception, Gormley stated 'I wanted to make something that was in recognition of a traumatic change, but which could also take some part in its healing.' His ‘standing stones’ as he referred to them seem to do just that, patiently outwaiting the long unsettled transition to a renewed, reinvigorated Christchurch.

Image Credit: Celia Walker