The Creative Diary of Chris Elphick

Antony Gormley's 'Another Place'

A short while ago I got the opportunity to visit Liverpool and made Crosby Beach on Merseryside my first stop there.

It was a long day's drive and the sun was dipping fast in the sky by the time I arrived at the beach. But I had a good hour or so to spare and I managed to explore a fair few of the 100-strong iron men that make up Sir Antony Gormley's 'Another Place' exhibit, which is located along this stretch of sand.

The first of Sir Antony Gormley's iron
men that greeted my visit to Crosby Beach

The statues are modelled from 17 different body casts the sculptor made of his own naked body and the resulting figures evidence a variety of both tense and relaxed poses.

The nude iron sculptures raised a lot of controversy at the time of their installation and several groups, including watersport enthusiasts, the coastguard and conversationalists raised concerns against their presence along the shoreline.

Birds scouring the sands for their supper
near one of the iron men of Crosby Beach

Having previously toured a few other countries, Germany (Cuxhaven), Norway (Stavenger) and Belgium (De Panne), the iron men reached Merseyside in 2005. They were then due to move to New York after the local council initially refused permission for 'Another Place' to become a permanent exhibition at the beach.

However, the iron men became a very popular tourist draw over the years and brought a lot of money and trade to the community businesses. This forced the hand of the councillor's when the question of the residency of 'Another Place' returned to the council the following year. And so, to the delight of art lovers and the local trade, the iron men became a permanent feature on the sands of Crosby Beach in 2007.

One of the scarier faces of the
Crosby Beach Iron Men

Gormley's stated intention when he created 'Another Place', was to explore the movement of the tides and the passing of time on the beach and to engage with the day to day life of the habitat there.

An iron man watching the passing of one of the many...

...large container ships that slide along the horizon of Crosby Beach

With the evening drawing in fast, I was a little disappointed not to have the time to explore more of the Crosby iron men as each seemed to have its own distinct character.

But time and tides wait for no man and so I finally had to say a fond farewell to these unique and thought-provoking statues. I really could not leave, however, without having my photograph taken with one of the surreal fellows :)

That's me on the left btw

Sunlight On My Kitchen Wall This Morning

In Search Of Glow Worms..

My wife and I went looking for glow worms the other night. I remember seeing them just a short walk from my house when I was growing up, on some disused land at the bottom of a graig. Sightings of them enchanted me and they were definitely the most magical things I had ever witnessed out in the real world. I do have to admit to being bitterly disappointed when I inspected the glowing critters more closely, however, and discovered them to be rather butt-ugly beetles rather than some kind of supernatural fae creature!

It has been well over 40 years now since I last saw a glow worm, and my wife has never seen one. And so, finally, after some research on where they are most likely to be seen, we headed out for a late evening walk.

Our chosen hunting ground was a beach about a half hour's drive from our home and we arrived just as the sun was dipping over the horizon. Parking up near the beach, we walked along the tide-line towards the Nature Reserve.

Despite the gloom, I snagged this lovely piece
of seaglass from the sands of Oxwich Bay

Evening Primrose and Sea Holly decorated the Dunes that fringed the grasslands Nature Reserve and the sound of crickets that surrounded us made me wish I had brought my audio recorder along with us.

Evening Primrose

Sea Holly

Oxwich Bay at dusk

We waited until darkness settled upon the land before making our way back towards the car, checking for the greenish luminescence of glow works along the route. Alas, there were none to be spotted that night.

Sunset over Oxwich Nature Reserve

Still, we had a very enjoyable walk and the ambience of the night was incredible. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous, however, of the occupants of this holiday home, who had set up camp here for the night:

Camping beneath the stars

Still, both my wife and I had work the following morning, so, with the time now rapidly approaching 11.00p.m., we headed off home for the night.

Boilio

Continuing work on the second draft of Berserk!

Cracking On With Draft 2 of Berserk!

I Love Trees

Sheringham 1940's Weekend 2018

Spending a day exploring a few Norfolk beaches in Norfolk last year, we ended up at Sheringham, where we all suddenly felt like we had slipped through a Goodnight Sweetheart time portal into the war years of the 1940's. It was quite an eerie sensation, I can tell you.

As it transpired, there was no need to panic as all we had really done was to visit Sheringham during its annual 1940's Weekend.

It was a surreal afternoon/evening but the experience was amazing and afforded a fantastic opportunity to photograph something just that little bit different.