Antony Gormley: Field for the British Isles

Experience this vast and iconic artwork at Firstsite, celebrating community, individuality and togetherness.

Join us for the opening celebration of Field for the British Isles from 7-9pm on 15 Nov and be one of the first see this world famous collaborative sculpture as it occupies the rear half of the Firstsite building.

Field for the British Isles, which consists of 40,000 tiny individual terracotta figures, is the largest single artwork in the Arts Council Collection and its arrival in Colchester will herald the latest stage in the journey of this spectacular piece.

Field for the British Isles was made by Gormley in 1993 with 100 volunteers who were each given a portion of clay and instructions for the size and shape he wanted for the figures.

After being acquired by the Arts Council Collection in 1995, Field for the British Isles has been exhibited at a variety of venues across the UK, including Salisbury Cathedral, The Baltic in Gateshead and Tate Britain. At each location, the configuration of Field is changed to suit the space, but the thousands of small figures are always arrayed to resemble a dense carpet, with each figure looking directly at the viewer. In Firstsite the figures will swarm through the rear half of the building, including throughout the main gallery spaces, inescapable and seemingly endless.

Field for the British Isles is an Arts Council Collection National Partner Exhibition.