Gormley, Antony (1950-...), a British sculptor, created the United Kingdom's largest statue. It is Angel of the North, a statue 65 feet (20 meters) high, with a wingspan of 170 feet (52 meters). It was erected on a hilltop site in Gateshead, in northern England, and unveiled in February 1998. The statue weighs about 225 tons (205 metric tons) and is based on massive concrete piles 72 feet (22 meters) deep that anchor it to solid rock. The work was commissioned by Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council. It occupies a commanding position overlooking the main London to Edinburgh road, and vehicles traveling on this road have a clear view of the statue. The council has described the sculpture as "a messenger for the great engineering skills of the region and the spirit of its people, expressing a time of transition from the industrial to the information age."