Fourth Plinth - What Next?

By Hazel Last edited 194 months ago
Fourth Plinth - What Next?
FourthPlinth.jpg

Big names making big sculptures are making big waves. Six new ideas for sculptures for Trafalgar Square are open to public viewing from today - and you will have the chance to pick which one will follow the current whacking huge great Thomas Schütte coloured plexiglass sculpture that sits on the fourth plinth right now.

The fourth plinth has remained empty since money ran out and a permanent statue of King William IV couldn't be placed there. Good old Ken Livingstone came to power and decided that it was the perfect place for a changing series of public artwork and a way to involve more people in art in London, so we've had Marc Quinn's serene Alison Lapper with her curved stomach, we've had Rachel Whiteread turning the plinth itself into an inside out, upside down piece of art and the contemplative, introspective Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger. What next? Well...

From today you can visit the National Gallery to see what Jeremy Deller, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shonibare and Bob & Roberta Smith are offering. We've heard rumours of meerkats, burnt out cars and big mirrors. No mention yet of oversized unmade beds or a specially adapted Angel of the North, renamed Angel of the West End. And there's a chance for you to add your own thoughts and preferences into the mix as part of the display. The selection will be made in May so if you care about what will loom in the background of all Trafalgar Square based revelries, make a visit and make your thoughts known.

The Fourth Plinth at the National Gallery, Annenberg Court, until 30 March, free. For more information, go to the National Gallery website here.

Image courtesy of Lady Muck from the Londonist Flickr pool.

Last Updated 08 January 2008