'Amazonian Field' is a large collection of terracotta sculptures made by bricklayers in Mexico for the artist Anthony Gormley created in 1992. The official description in the gallery says:
Amazonian Field puts us in the uncomfortable position of being confronted by numerous figures made from the earth itself, all looking towards us questioningly. In previous installations the work has taken on strong identities of place and Gormley was intrigued to discover what sort of reinterpretations might arise in the context of this exhibition: 'From the beginning I was trying to make something as direct as possible with clay: the earth. I wanted to work with people and to make a work about our collective future and our responsibility for it. I wanted the art to look back at us, its makers (and later viewers) as if we were responsible -- responsible for the world that it, and we, were in.'
Looking at this piece of the first time was very interesting. Seeing the whole room filled with small human figures (up to 35,000 of them), all facing the same direction. Wherever they are displayed they are configured to the room, but always positioned towards the viewer, and the fill the floor like a carpet as there are no gaps. I definitely got the sense of them looking at me as the description in the gallery said. Their is nothing more to them, but you can infer a lot of meaning from the form they take. Thinking in terms of Climate change, their imperfections could be seen as the representing the unique beauty of the world. The way they fill the entire room, from wall to wall seems to represent some sense of scale of the earth perhaps, or even the billions of people on earth collectively staring.
Some of the figures look quite imposing. They are proportioned differently but large and wide figures stand out. The contrast created by the grooves that make their eyes draws attention, and as you look at them their eyes seem to fixate on you. Their stares could be a questioning, perhaps disapproving look from the world and even ourselves for what we have done to the planet.