SCULPTOR ANTONY GORMLEY UNVEILS EDINBURGH WORK

The sculptor who created the Angel of the North has completed his first project in Scotland.

Antony Gormley will be in Edinburgh later for the formal opening of his new artwork, which was commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland.

He will unveil a series of six life-sized cast-iron figures alongside the Water of Leith.

The installations will be similar to one of his most popular works, Another Place at Crosby in Merseyside.

The Crosby sculpture consists of 100 cast-iron figures which face out to sea, spread over a two mile (3.2 km) stretch of the beach.

The 60-year-old Londoner's best-known work is the Angel of the North, a public sculpture which towers over Gateshead.

His latest work in Edinburgh consists of six figures which begin at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, a setting Gormley found inspiring.

The first is buried chest-deep in the ground and the next four have been lowered into the Water of Leith as it winds its way through the city to the sea.

The final statue is at the end of an abandoned pier.

The figures in the river are so realistic, police have already had calls from worried passers-by.

The artist said the high-pressure density of modern urban life made it “vital to take the time and space to open up our minds to the elements”.

He said: “We are all aware that we are coming to the point where there will be 10 billion human beings on this planet.

“The big question that I'm asking with all of these works is, 'where does the human project fit, in the scheme of things?'.”