Antony Gormley’s abstract 12ft steel sculpture commemorating the Second World War code-breaker Alan Turing has finally been unveiled at Cambridge University. The sculpture of Turing stands in the grounds of King’s College—between Gibbs Building and Webb’s Court—where the computer scientist read mathematics in the 1930s.
Christina Faraday, an art historian and research fellow at Gonville and Caius, University of Cambridge, posted on X (formerly Twitter): “I quite like this and it could have been worse.” But another contributor on social media says: “I’m just bored of Gormley repeating this same silhouette everywhere.”
A wartime hero, Turing successfully decoded German messages with the Bombe, his machine designed to break Enigma-enciphered messages. But, after being disgraced by a conviction for “gross indecency” for homosexuality in 1952 and an enforced chemical castration, Turing is thought to have committed suicide in 1954.
Gormley’s piece, entitled True, for Alan Turing, is made from Corten steel. “Corten contains 1% of copper which means it will oxidise over time, forming a rich red rust surface. The sculpture’s relationship with time and weather is an integral part of its character,” Gormley says in a statement.
Gormley adds: “Alan Turing unlocked the door between the industrial and the information ages. I wanted to make the best sculpture I could to honour a man who was pivotal in changing the course of all our lives. It is not about the memorialisation of a death, but about a celebration of the opportunities that a life allowed.”
Historic England initially objected to the project however, saying the steel work would “harm” the character of the college. In 2020, officials at the UK heritage body said that the figure "would harm the particular character created by the interplay of buildings and landscape, which makes the college so remarkable a place”. Historic England’s advice was taken into consideration during Cambridge City Council’s assessment and decision to erect the statue. Numerous letters of support from key art world figures were included in the initial application for Gormley’s Turing sculpture.
UPDATE (25 January): This article was amended by removing a reference to Alex Farquharson.
