Antony Gormley: Inside Australia Book

The story of the creation of sculptor Antony Gormley's Insiders in remote Western Australia.

Early one morning in December 2002, under the searing heat of the sun, internationally renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley stepped onto the surface of a vast, million-year-old salt lake in one of the remotest parts of Australia. He was there to install a remarkable work that would stretch over ten square kilometers and consist of more than fifty sculptures. It was the final act in an exhausting six-month process that had seen him take nude body scans of the residents of a nearby town and produce bizarre, alien-like statues of the inside of each person, which he was now to place across the salt-encrusted expanse of Lake Ballard, Western Australia.

Recently completed and drawing thousands of visitors from all over the world to its remote site, the work is stunning in its effect. It begins with Gormley receiving the permission of local Aboriginal elders for his work and persuading the people of Menzies to take part, and follows with the hazardous casting and back-breaking installation of the sculptures. Photographs, maps, and drawings show the entire process in detail, while commentaries from members of the project team explain its different stages. 225 illustrations, 200 in color.