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"I just hope that people will be stopped in their tracks and start looking again at themselves and the place they are in." This is what British artist Antony Gormley said about his work in an interview with The Times in March 2010. Since 1990, this internationally renowned sculptor has placed casts of himself all over the world. The lack of detail and the skin of rusty metal (often cast iron) make it clear that this is not about vanity. Rather, Gormley sees his sculptures as mediators between body and mind, life and death, reason and imagination.

Due to their simple design and repetitive character, his sculptures are also reminiscent of the terracotta army of Xi'an, archaeological finds or anthropological objects. It is primarily the placement that makes the sculptures art. It is not without reason that a large part of Gormley's oeuvre can be found in public spaces. In the north of England, for instance, he placed a giant figure with spread arms along the A1 motorway ('Angel of the North', 1998). In March 2010, his 26-metre tall, squatting figure was unveiled on a breakwater near Lelystad. For this artist, it is all about how our body interacts with the environment.

This can also be seen in 'The Well' at the entrance to what was then the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. As the postmodernist architecture of Michael Graves and Sjoerd Soeters would 'crush' every sculpture there, Gormley chose to literally put his contribution underground. Only a large grid gives the spot away and makes the sculpture visible. Underneath, Gormley dug a well in which he placed a human figure. Depending on the groundwater level, this is more or less under water. The sculpture looks upwards, both surprised and expectant at the same time. Could it be the architecture alone that impresses him?

Renovation of the pavement of De Resident - the neighbourhood around the Ministry - meant that Gormley's work of art no longer fitted in. That is why VWS donated this work of art to the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. Since 2016 the iron man stands in a new pit in the garden at the back. Near brasserie Berlage.