Students try to block Gormley work’s erection
STUDENTS at Imperial College London are trying to block the installation of a sculpture over its “phallic” shape.
The work by Sir Antony Gormley, titled Alert, is made up of a 20ft stack of cantilevered steel blocks meant to resemble a squatting human figure.
It is to be installed at the university’s newly built Dangoor Plaza in South Kensington later this year.
According to Sir Antony, it represents a figure “balancing on the balls of the feet while squatting on its haunches”.
But in a motion seen by The Guardian, the Imperial College Union says the sculpture may “hurt the reputation of the college” because of its “obvious” portrayal of an erect penis. It said: “While the intended form may evoke our community of scientific research, the phallic interpretation does not. The name Alert could also be understood as referring to the phallus being erect.”
The sculpture was donated by alumnus Brahmal Vasudevan and his wife, Shanthi Kandiah. A college spokesman said: “Sir Antony Gormley is one of the world’s foremost living artists, and we are grateful for this gift.”