The installation Critical Mass (1995) was conceived in direct response to the exhibition site, the former tram depot Remise in Vienna.

The work comprises sixty life-size cast-iron body forms derived from moulds of the artist’s own body, arranged in varying positions such as lying, sitting, kneeling, or standing. Rather than presenting individual sculptures, Gormley treats these serial body forms as spatial indices of human presence. The work reflects the body as a site of experience and memory while simultaneously engaging broader historical dimensions: Critical Mass has often been interpreted as an “anti-monument” to the victims of the twentieth century. The accompanying catalogue, including a text by Andrew Renton and an interview with the artist by Edek Bartz, situates the installation within Gormley’s ongoing exploration of the relationship between body, space, and collective perception. The Vienna presentation represents a significant moment in the development of his cast-iron body sculptures of the 1990s.