Event Horizon rooftop sculpture display by British artist Antony Gormley must come with sensitivity about suicides in Hong Kong

British artist Antony Gormley's internationally acclaimed public art project Event Horizon is coming to Hong Kong in November. The city will see 31 sculptures mounted at both street level and on building rooftops in Central and Western district looking out across the urban landscape.

Each sculpture is a life-sized fibreglass figure modelled on Gormley's body and looks real from a distance. Some will be placed standing at the edges of tall towers, as if a human is contemplating jumping off the building.

According to Gormley, "Event Horizon captures the particular time of a particular body: a subjective place. The principle dynamic of the work is the relationship between imagination and the horizon, involving the citizen in a game of seeking and perhaps finding.

"Beyond those figures that you can actually see, how many more are out of sight? Where is the meeting place of earth and sky? Through the catalyst of Event Horizon I want the city of Hong Kong to become a place of reverie that invites reflection on human nature and our place in the wide scheme of things."

The project looks set to finally reach Hong Kong following the cancellation of a previously planned installation after a J.P. Morgan employee jumped last year from a building owned by a sponsor of the exhibition. Apparently, the possibility that Gormley's artworks might be misunderstood by the masses was a concern. The safety of viewers is always a topic of discussion among artists.

The public relations agency handling the art exhibition has approached our Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention for comments on the project.