Suicide Sculptures Get the Push

‘Suicide’ sculptures by British artist Anthony Gormley are to be removed from Alpine passes in Austria where they sparked fears of a rise in the rate of mountain rescue call outs.

The 100 sculptures – identical to works in London and New York – show life-sized men standing on the edge of precipices over 100 square miles of peaks in the country’s Vorarlberg region.

When they were first put up two years ago, mountain rescue and other emergency services were given the exact GPS position of each of the 100 sculptures to avoid mix-ups when well-wishers ring in to report suicide fears.

Now all of then are to be removed because the land-owners where they’re sited cannot agree on terms for another exhibition.

“We unfortunately have no choice but to remove the sculptures.” said Andrea Kaufmann a local culture committee councillor.

“They have been a great success, but we cannot renew the contract with the state and the landowners.” she added.