It could have been the city’s version of the Angel of the North but, as our unrealised giant sculptures correspondent Angus Young reports, it just never happened.
When councillors in Leeds shelved the idea of commissioning sculptor Antony Gormley to deliver a huge artwork in their city, Cllr Ron Fairfax spotted an opportunity. It was the late 1980s and Ron was looking for something to put Hull on the map. As chairman of Hull’s tourism sub-committee he was determined to create an eye-catching attraction to woo visitors to the city.
Back then, the idea of tourists flocking to Hull was still in its infancy. If anyone got off the early morning ferry arrivals from Rotterdam and Zeebrugge and stayed the night it was a bonus. Ron’s idea was simple. If Leeds didn’t fancy Gormley’s proposed 125 ft tall brick sculpture of man, he would do his best to bring it here instead. As a historian, Ron knew all about bricks.
Thanks to a scarcity of stone, Hull was literally built with its own bricks in the Middle Ages. Around five million bricks were used to construct the medieval town walls while large parts of Hull Minister are brick rather than stone. Ron envisaged the colossal Brick Man standing on Hull’s waterfront near the Marina.
“If it came to Hull it would be a magnificent symbol for people coming in and for shipping passing by” he said, “Hull would be given an international identity. The tourist attraction would be immense. It is still very much an abstract proposal – there is no certainty that it will ever come about but the idea of a huge statue which would be unique to Hull is something the committee is very keen on.”
The rejected Leeds design proposed a giant hollow structure with visitors stepping inside via an entrance in one heel. Two openings in the figure’s eyes would let in light from above. However, the estimated £600,000 price tag proved too much for the Leeds councillors to swallow. Anticipating a similar reaction here, Ron suggested commercial sponsorship could cover the cost. He was truly ahead of his time.
After going public, Ron faced a backlash from some of his own council colleagues. Councillor Les Taylor feared it would dwarf a proposed council memorial for lost seafarers. “I don’t want to see that being overshadowed by a monstrosity. I think we should just kick this idea into touch,” he said. Talks between the council and Antony Gormley eventually fizzled out without any agreement being reached
Gormley went on to create The Angel of the North and Hull eventually ended up with The Deep. The council’s memorial to seafarers never got built.
Sometime later, Gormley’s wife Vicken Parsons revealed he hadn’t been keen on the suggested waterfront location for his sculpture. “He hopes Hull will commission a different work from someone else because he says the site is brilliant, splendid, but absolutely not the right one for the Brick Man.” She even claimed her husband had only reluctantly travelled to Hull to talk to the council. “He felt they’d gone such a long way with the plans and he felt rather embarrassed about it.”
A scale model of Gormley’s Brick Man can be seen at Leeds City Art Gallery.