Gormley, who created the Angel of the North, has brought his Domain Field exhibition to the South for the first time.

It comprises 50 life-size figures made of metal rods which were created from casts of volunteers in the Gateshead area.

It creates an eerie vision of the human form which appears almost weightless. The Great Hall in Winchester makes a stunning backdrop for the models - the building is the only remaining part of Winchester Castle and the Round Table, said to have belonged to King Arthur.

Antony Gormley

Gormley said: "There will be people who will see the figures as the ghosts of people who came here to banquet or to be judged and found wanting, and maybe killed. But there are other ways of thinking about the figures - they could represent what the future had to bring."

The statue of Queen Victoria which normally sits in the corner of the Great Hall has been moved into the centre of what Gormley calls, his "Electronic rave".

Antony Gormley on Domain Field (56k)

The exhibition, which runs for seven weeks was originally on display at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead last year.

Domain Field

Antony Gormley, who worked in Hampshire in the early stages of his career, has created some of the most ambitious and recognisable works of the past two decades including Field, The Angel of the North and Quantum Cloud for the millennium Dome in Greenwich.

He also gifted his Sound II sculpture to Winchester - it now resides in the crypt of the Cathedral.

The Domain Field exhibition is part of Winchester Festival of Art and the Mind which will explore the relationship between art and science, bringing together pre-eminent artists and academics, including Gormley.

He will be giving a talk on Domain Field at the Great Hall on 6th March.