SALON

Friday, May 11, 2012 8:15 PM UTC

‘Suicide’ statues atop Brazil roofs give fright

By

Topics: From the Wires,

'Suicide' statues atop Brazil roofs give frightA sculpture by British artist Antony Gormely installed atop a building is backdropped by the skyline of downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, Friday, May 11, 2012. Brazilian media are calling Gormely's sculptures "suicide statues." Firefighters have been called to the scene this week by concerned citizens who mistook Gormley’s life-size body cast sculptures perched at the edges of tall buildings as despondent people ready to jump. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)(Credit: AP)

SAO PAULO (AP) — They stand like nude sentinels, hundreds of feet above the stone pedestrian streets of central Sao Paulo. The life-size human silhouettes appear tense, perched on the edges of high-rises, prepared to dive to their deaths below.

Passers-by point toward the sky, with perplexed expressions and mouths agape.

“What is that … a man? No. What … ?” Jessica Santana, a 20-year-old municipal worker, uttered to a friend Friday as they walked through Patriarca plaza, eyes fixed high above.

The 31 iron and fiberglass statues bolted atop several buildings are part of the first South American exhibit for British artist Antony Gormley, who has won many awards, among them the prestigious Turner Prize.

The sculptures, based on Gormley’s own body, are burnt auburn in color, some with arms slightly bent, others ramrod straight. They appear to stare into the horizon, gazing at the endless sprawl of tall buildings in this city of 20 million people.

The exhibit, “Still Being,” officially opens Saturday, runs through July 15 and will also appear in Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. It includes other works shown in Sao Paulo’s Banco do Brasil Cultural Center.

Gormley has spent four decades exploring the theme of the human body and how it relates to larger physical spaces around it, challenging spectators with showings that go well beyond a closed gallery.

“The police were here a few days ago because they received calls that a man was going to jump from a building,” said Carol Menezes, a receptionist at a Banco do Brasil building where one of the statues sits on a roof 25 stories above the sidewalk. “It’s interesting, creative. I was surprised when I first saw it. I guess it’s art, so many strange things are so why not this?”

Gormley’s 31 sculptures are part of his “Event Horizon” project, which was shown in London in 2007 and last year in New York, where police responded to at least 10 callers reporting potential suicide jumpers in the first few weeks it was shown.

The New York exhibit provoked a strong reaction. After witnessing people leaping from the World Trade Center towers in the 9/11 attacks, a human form perched atop buildings in that city is particularly unnerving.

“I never wanted to freak anyone out,” Gormley told the New York Times in a March 19, 2010, article. “If people think of death and suicide, it’s a sad reflection on evolution.”

The reaction so far to the Sao Paulo exhibit proves it’s not only New York that is reflecting sadly — even in Brazil, whose citizens are routinely ranked among the happiest and most optimistic in international polling. The Folha de S. Paulo newspaper labeled the figures as “suicide statues” in a headline.

“It scared me, I didn’t know what to think. My heart raced, I thought it was a guy getting ready to jump,” said Santana, a few minutes after realizing the figures were not human.

She then stopped talking, returned her gaze to the skyline, hands on hips, and stood amid the midday buzz of the plaza, as still as the statues high above.

Bradley Brooks

More Bradley Brooks.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments are not enabled for this story.

follow salon

Most Read

Video of the Day

Watch More Here »

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations