In conjunction with Wells Art Contemporary (WAC) and Project Factory CIC, Wells Cathedral is collaborating with Antony Gormley to produce a new work that will be exhibited on the West Front of the cathedral.

The piece will be loaned by the artist, who created the Angel of the North, and on display from the end of August.

Cast in iron, the work is just over life-size and will occupy an empty niche below the North-West tower.

The West Front of the cathedral exhibits many renditions of the human form, from Old Testament stories to resurrection, kings and bishops to angels and apostles.

Of the work Gormley has said: "I have chosen this niche for its position and its visibility - the book at the end of the bookshelf.

"I have used the orthogonal geometry of our modern habitat to evoke the body as a place rather than as a carrier of narrative illustrated by appearance and attribute.

"The work attempts to invoke the feeling of being isolated and exposed on this corner of a Gothic masterpiece.

"My purpose is to engage the eye and body of the viewer in empathic projection, to consider our time in the shelter of other times."

Dean of Wells, the Very Rev Dr John Davies, said: "The West Front of Wells Cathedral is one of the wonders of medieval architecture - a triumph of statuary and design.

"And now is to be added, for a period, a piece by one our greatest contemporary sculptors, Sir Antony Gormley.

"Medieval and modern, ancient and contemporary. Will we see contrast or complementarity? Come and see, then decide."

Chair of WAC, Paddy O'Hagan, said: "The work itself is not just the sculpture.

"As in his other public commissions, where and how the piece is placed and the ways it interacts with its environment and context are equally important.

"In this case the West Front has a number of medieval figures, as well as three modern pieces. The Gormley work will be in dialogue with all these elements and indeed the West Front as a major feat of Gothic architecture."

Fundraising and community involvement will be co-ordinated by Project Factory CIC in Wells.

Emma Lefevre, for Project Factory CIC, said: "This is a wonderful opportunity for the people of Wells to come together to make it happen.

"We look forward to working with Wells Cathedral and WAC to bring to fruition this great work by Antony Gormley."

Wells City Council have also given their backing to the project, and town clerk Steve Luck told Wells Nub News they would be doing all they could to support the project, which will help promote the city to visitors.