Rooftop statues in Hong Kong trigger fears of suicide: Global support association angry at artist's response for people to 'walk home another way'
Social experts upset by artist's suggestion for people to take a different route home
A global suicide prevention body expressed concern over lifelike statues being erected on high-rise buildings in Hong Kong, a city that saw more than 400 people jump to their deaths last year.
International Association for Suicide Prevention president Ella Arensman warned that a six-month exhibition, , by British artist Antony Gormley could trigger more suicides and cause distress to people who had lost loved ones.
Gormley had, meanwhile, been criticised for allegedly suggesting a woman who was upset by one of the 27 rooftop statues after a suicide near her home should ignore it or take a different route to avoid seeing it.
The Turner Prize winner had a testy encounter with Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, in a University of Hong Kong forum ahead of Friday's official exhibition launch.
Yip told Gormley a distressed woman contacted his centre last weekend after seeing the statue near her home in Central, only a fortnight after a young man leapt to his death nearby.
"She had heard the screams of the young man and was distressed and asked us what she could do," Yip said.
"I politely asked what Mr Gormley's advice would be. He answered, maybe semi-joking, that she should not look at it, or change her route going home."
Yip said he would prefer the exhibition to be moved to a museum or other indoor venue.
He did not believe Gormley took the issue seriously enough, adding: "He should have been more sensitive. You cannot just tell people if they don't like it, they should walk home another way.
"If this was in a museum, I could choose to go in or not. But these statues are being shown in public spaces and on government and private buildings.
"We appreciate the opportunity to view this art, but it should be sensitive to the particular situation in Hong Kong. We want to minimise the effects and avoid any tragic consequences."
Robert Ness, director of exhibition organiser the British Council, said: "It's obviously a pity that the presence of a sculpture upset the woman … Antony did say he felt sorry about that."
Both Yip and Arensman called on the organisers to give out suicide hotline numbers to people near the statue locations if the show was to continue.
Arensman said: "Certain images can attract people who are currently in a vulnerable situation and who are considering taking their lives by jumping from a building."
She cited Australian research that found associating an art or positive event with a setting or location frequently used by people to take their lives led to a rise in the number of suicides there.
Jumping from towers accounted for 52.5 per cent of the 893 suicides in Hong Kong last year.
In a written response, Gormley said: "When you see a human form at the top of a tall building it takes half a second to realise this is not a living person.
"If the installation [has] in some way made it possible for people to discuss taboo subjects such as suicide, then it's not a bad thing too. Art should be as an agent of change, for good."
A council spokeswoman noted the event had been held in five other cities - London, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Rotterdam - without any evidence of higher suicide numbers.
The British Council had consulted district councils, the fire services, police and other groups ahead of the exhibition and had the support of the government, landlords and other partners for what she called "truly a collective Hong Kong effort".
