Gormley's work, which is dedicated to the representation of the human figure, reflects the artist's artistic and social quest, to re-establish, via his sculptures, man in a physical and spatial relationship with his environment, in which he often feels estranged.
The representational techniques vary, but the human body, as a medium of experiencing space and the world is at the centre of each work. The body - it is always that of the artist - only remains as an empty space inside the filigree shell. Every change of position opens new perspectives for the viewer of a shape which unites several opposites: enclosing empty space, yet reaching into space, fragile yet full of energy, a sculpture, even made of metal, yet seeming like an organic shape.