A SHIMMERING sea of sparkling steel sculptures moulded from the bodies of 290 ordinary people was unveiled by artist Antony Gormley yesterday.

The Domain Field, created for the Baltic Gallery, in Gateshead, used people from all walks of life and all ages.

Gormley, who is also the man behind the Angel of the North sculpture, used models from the town and neighbouring Newcastle.

The process of creating the sculptures involved each person being stripped, wrapped in clingfilm and then moulded in plaster by teams of specially-trained staff.

A small army of workers then used these casts to construct the individual structures by welding steel elements together inside each mould.

The completed works fill a whole floor of the art gallery, on the bank of the River Tyne.

Mr Gormley said he was very excited about the opening of the exhibition and pleased with the results.

He said: "It's a wonderful part of the world and I think the attitude of people is wonderful.

"A lot of people have quite negative self-body image issues. A lot of them feel uncomfortable about being naked in front of strangers.

"A lot of people overcame emotional, as well as physical barriers. I think that is a triumph."

The exhibition opens to the public tomorrow and is set to run until August 25.