The Thames River has always been connected to major artworks involving London, both as a subject (e.g. Canaletto and Turner), as a backdrop (films and literature) and as an integral part of the art itself.

We were appointed by the client, a nearby resident, to project manage the installation of Antony Gormley's artwork 'Another Time' in Limehouse. We liaised with the artist's Studio & co-ordinated the process to insert the artwork into the River Thames at Limehouse. This included obtaining all necessary statutory & marine consents, & commissioning specialist marine contractors to carry out the works.


This cast-iron sculpture is roughly in the form of a life-sized human male figure. Since the past couple of decades, the artist has been working with versions of these totemic forms, placed in differing landscapes, and exposed the weathering of these varied environments. This particular piece can be considered related to the "Horizon Field" series where 100 figures were spread over the mountainous region of Vorarlberg, Austria (2010-2012). However, a closer relationship may be found with the permanent installation "Another Place" at Crosby Beach, Liverpool (2005), as these figures here stand on a tidal flat, facing outwards towards the water. Like this artwork, the Crosby Beach pieces are almost completely submerged at high tides.

According to the artist:
"Here time is tested by tide, architecture by the elements and the prevalence of sky seems to question the earth's substance. In this work human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body. It is no hero, no ideal, just the industrially reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet."

The decision to align the top of the sculpture with the existing 19th century mooring posts (albeit initially for purely functional reasons), and the deliberate sizing and texture of the steel support to match these posts, has resulted in perceptible links to the site's surroundings and its sustained local character.

The site is clearly visible from a highly trafficked portion of the river, as it is part of the route between London Bridge and Canary Wharf.


Engineers: Price & Myers

Contractors: Red7Marine

Approval authorities include: The Port of London Authority, Marine Management Organisation, Environment Agency, Tower Hamlets Council Planning & Building Control.