Bed 1980 - 1981

Editor: This is Antony Gormley's "Bed," and it looks to be made of stacked bread. The impression left by the figures is quite haunting. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The absent bodies, defined by their absence, are powerful symbols of loss, memory, and shared experience. What cultural rituals come to mind when you see this image? Editor: Well, it reminds me a bit of a shroud, almost like a tomb. Curator: Exactly. Gormley is evoking the weight of history, both personal and collective. The bed, a site of intimacy and vulnerability, becomes a canvas for exploring themes of presence and absence. How does the material itself—bread—contribute to this reading? Editor: The bread makes me think of communion, or maybe sustenance. Curator: Yes, a potent symbol of life and nourishment, now transformed into a marker of mortality. It makes you think about the passage of time, doesn’t it? Editor: I can definitely see how the symbols relate to both life and death. Curator: Precisely. These symbols resonate because they tap into deeply ingrained cultural narratives.