immortals

At some future time when people have forgotten their history there will be stories of Gods who came to this remote salt lake in the Goldfields.

These fifty –one figures created by British Sculptor, Antony Gormley as part of his Inside Australia installation, rise out of the lake like alien creatures, yet they are cast from x-rays of local inhabitants of the tiny town of Menzies, fifty-one kilometres to the east.

The setting is truly inspired. Lake Ballard is a salt lake that recedes into infinity, deceiving the eyes into thinking that the strange ironstone islands are floating on water where none exits.

Inspired setting

Curiously, the footsteps of the visitors to these figures are etched into the salt crust and have become part of the installation. From a distance, it makes it look as if the figures are retreating.

How the artist managed to hit upon this location is a mystery – there are many other salt lakes around, though not with such interesting topography or visual effect. It doesn’t surprise me that he is also an archaeologist and an anthropologist. Although he has exhibited widely and has produced a similar installation on the beach at Cuxhaven, he is especially well known in Britain for his Angel of the North which spectacularly overlooks the freeway in Newcastle.

Visitors' footprints become part of the installation
Double click on this image and you may see some of the other figures in the background