"The sculpture is like a standing stone, a marker in space and time..."
GRIP, a sculpture created for Saddell Bay by artist Antony Gormley as part of the LAND installation to mark the Landmark Trust's 50th anniversary, is to remain in place permanently. The abstract human form gazes out over the Kilbrannan Sound to Arran from the rocks below Saddell Castle. Originally commissioned for just 12 months, Argyll & Bute Council have now granted permanent planning permission and thanks to an anonymous private donor, the cast-iron sculpture will remain indefinitely.
"GRIP's human scale and magical setting make it a deeply moving work by one of this generation's finest artists," says Caroline Stanford, who project managed the LAND installation in 2015. "We are so grateful to our wonderful donor for enabling it to stay in Scotland for good."
"There is an excitement about making a sculpture that can live out here amongst the waves and the wind, the rain and snow, in night and day. The sculpture is like a standing stone, a marker in space and time, linking with a specific place and its history but also looking out towards the horizon, having a conversation with a future that hasn't yet happened."
Click here to find out more about LAND.
Author Jeanette Winterson has reflected upon LAND in a special art catalogue. You can purchase a copy at a special price here.