A photographer who has taken thousands of images of Sir Antony Gormley’s iron men on Crosby Beach says the stunning sculptures make the “perfect foreground” to capture the wonders of nature.<\/p>\n
Ron Davies has been photographing Sir Antony’s Another Place – featuring 100 iron sculptures modelled on the Sefton coast – since their installation in 2005.<\/p>\n
He said the figures were “iconic” and when he headed to the beach to photograph them he always felt “like I’ve got company even if I’m on my own”.<\/p>\n
Mr Davies said the iron men blended in with the “drama” of nature, as he exhibits 20 of his images of the artworks – from sunsets, brooding storms and even the Northern lights – at the Atkinson in Southport.<\/p>\n
Mr Davies, who said he had been taking pictures “his whole life” and ran the school photographic society at his high school, said: “The Iron Men enrich the already beautiful Sefton coast, making a perfect foreground against which to capture the wonders of nature. <\/p>\n
“From sunrises and sunsets to brooding storms, snowscapes and even the Northern Lights, every visit offers fresh opportunities for a photographer.”<\/p>\n
Twenty years on, Mr Davies said he still found the Iron Men “fascinating”.<\/p>\n
“They are iconic and often used to promote the area,” he said.<\/p>\n
“There is something about the silhouettes looking into the sea.”<\/p>\n
The 76-year-old, who lives a 10-minute drive from Crosby beach, said the “inspiring” artworks got him “thinking about life in general”.<\/p>\n
He added the installation, which covers a distance of nearly two miles (3km), attracts tourists from all over the world.<\/p>\n
“I have met people who have travelled from Canada and Australia to see the Iron Men,” he said.<\/p>\n
Sefton cabinet member and journalist, councillor Peter Harvey, who has helped with the exhibition, said: “After 20 years, the resilience, humour and solidarity of the Iron Men have proven their credentials as honorary Scousers.<\/p>\n
“People’s reactions to ‘meeting’ the iron men can be different – some playful, others more reflective.<\/p>\n
“Many visitors have described how they relate to the figures’ relentless struggle in a volatile, harsh world.”<\/p>\n
He added: “Personally, I love how a generation of younger admirers – including my four children – have grown up alongside the iron men, embracing them into our community.”<\/p>\n
The free exhibition – entitled Men for All Seasons at The Atkinson – runs until 21 February.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A photographer who has taken thousands of images of Sir Antony Gormley’s iron men on Crosby Beach says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-201897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}