I dont know what Im looking for but I'll know it when I see it

The cultural geographer and philosopher David Harvey suggests that, like space and time, place is a social construct, and the only interesting question left to be asked on the subject is by what social process(es) is place constructed? This paper sets out to explore the construction methods employed by contemporary visual artists for whom place is central to their practice. Specific approaches are historically retraced revealing our understanding and desire to explore methods of representing place, and how this enquiry has influenced our renewed contemporary interest and understanding of place. It is not possible to separate any study of place from that of space, as both are intrinsically linked and are often interchangeable in literature and speech. It, therefore, becomes important to explore this relationship in some depth. The representation of place adheres to many social and political forces, which form it and continue to condition our understanding of place. If place functions as a manifestation of those associations, then by extension, the space experience of an artwork could be said to reside within the realm of place; space by virtue of our experience of it, of what we bring to it, is afforded the significance of place. Through the study of particular artists and artworks such as Antony Gormley’s, Angel of the North (Gateshead) and Jeremy Deller’s, Battle of Orgreave (Sheffield), two similar in theme but very different approaches to place making and representation of place are considered. The paper also allows for thoughts to emerge and be tested on the role serendipity and sagacity has had on the formulation and reception of these works. Both artworks created a great deal of heated public debate at the time and continue to do so, and thus, have generated a great deal of community engagement that questions and interrogates the idea of place.