• LAND at Saddell Bay by Antony Gormley for The Landmark Trust — Photo © Jill Tate
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LAND by A.Gormley, C.Richardson and J.Winterson

Artworks - 12/06/2017 - Article : Barbara Fecchio

Whether you are passionate about art or not, Land is the book that should be on everyone’s bookshelf. Classifying it as a « catalogue » would be oversimplifying, for this book is altogether fiction, tale and diary. Jeanette Winterson observes, questions and describes what she sees and feels with a fluidity and a sensitivity that few people can lay on paper, especially when it comes to contemporary art.

Land is a journey across five sites located on the British Islands, all under the supervision of the Landmark Trust, a British non-profit organization dedicated to cultural heritage preservation. In 2016, British artist Antony Gormley was invited to create a corpus of works to mark the 50th anniversary of the organization. He therefore created five human-size figurative steel sculptures, and picked a location for each one of them. Four sculptures were installed on the coast, gazing at the horizon (Saddell Baym, Mull of Kyntire, in Scotland; South West Point, Lundy, Bristol Canal, in the south west of England; Clavell Tower, Kimmerdige Bay in the south and Martello Tower, Aldeburg, on the east coast). The fifth one was installed inland along South Stratford Canal, and more specifically at Lenghtman’s Cottage in Lowsonford near Birmingham.

Land is also a journey through the intimate relationship that each one of us has with a work of art, whether it is in a museum, a gallery, at home, or outdoors. The importance of having and of nurturing this dialogue is the very essence of Jeanette Winterson’s book.

Clare Richardson’s photographs beautifully complement the journey and make each reading a renewed pleasure.

Antony Gormley, Claire Richardson, Jeanette Winterson, Land, published by The Landmark Trust, 2016, Shottesbrooke, Maidenhead, Berkshire.