Gormley works may come to Hong Kong despite controversy following suicide
Sponsor withdraws funding for installation 'Event Horizon' following banker's death
Hongkongers may yet be able to view British sculptures lining the city's skyline despite the exit of the exhibition's main sponsor - apparently due to the morbidity of the artworks.
The artist, Antony Gormley, holds out hope of bringing in the 31 human-sized figures that, because they are often mistaken for suicidal individuals, have drawn parallels to the death of a J.P. Morgan banker in February.
Property company Hongkong Land, which has a major client in the US investment bank, is withdrawing funding for the "Event Horizon" art installation.
J.P. Morgan reportedly objected to the sponsorship after one of its Hong Kong staff, Dennis Li Junjie, 33, fell from a Hongkong Land building in Central.
"Antony still hopes to bring the project to Hong Kong," said Eleanor Macnair, a spokeswoman for the White Cube gallery, which was involved in the logistics of Gormley's project.
"In some ways, it will be a nice surprise to see where the sculptures are going to be at the time."
A spokesman for Gormley described Hong Kong as an "exciting proposition", with a combination of high-rise buildings in a context of mountains and sea that made the city an ideal venue.