Angel Sculpture soars at the National Gallery of Australia

 

The National Gallery of Australia commissioned Ansary Consulting Engineers to design the structural elements of the installation of 2-metre high steel sculpture known as Angel of the North. The sculpture is replica of one of the most prominent works of British sculptor Antony Gormley. The sculpture is a one-tenth rendition of the scale of the original, which stands at 20m tall, has wings measuring 54m across, and overlooks a motorway near Gateshead in northern England.

For centuries, artists have struggled to depict angels, and semblances of the human form. Not since the statue of David and the colossal monuments of the Ancient Egyptians such as Ramses II, has the human form been redefined in a more modern context. It has been said that Gormley’s work is a supreme example of an avant-garde epic sculptural artwork.

Gormley made the maquette, in 2005 out of cast-iron, with a similar rusty patina to the original. The Gallery’s maquette is the fourth of a total of five that were made prior to the fabrication of the full scale sculpture in England.

The installation formed part of the lead-up to the opening of the National Gallery's new wing in late September and was one of four specially commissioned installations.

The 2m high maquette is installed on a cardinal axis made between the northern end of the Sculpture Garden adjoining the southern foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin and the Carillion.

The sculpture has a high degree of wind sensitivity owing to the orientation of its wings in addition to its lakeside windswept location. The wind forces create overturning instability which is required to be is resisted at ground level by a substantial subsurface footing. We conceived a pedestal base incorporating a hidden structural steel mounting to harness strength characteristics, and embedded it within an off-form in-situ concrete sheathing portraying the ubiquitous neutrality of an art gallery pedestal.

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