Fourth plinth

The empty plinth (September 2022)

The fourth plinth is the northwest plinth in Trafalgar Square in central London. It was originally intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but remained empty due to lack of funds. For over 150 years, its use was debated; in 1998, the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) commissioned three contemporary sculptures to be displayed temporarily on the plinth. Shortly afterwards, Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, commissioned Sir John Mortimer to seek opinions from public art commissioners, critics and members of the public as to its future. Mortimer's final report recommended that there continue to be a rolling programme of commissioned temporary artworks rather than settle permanently on one figure or idea.

In 2003, the ownership of Trafalgar Square was transferred from Westminster City Council to the Mayor of London and this marked the beginning of the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Commission as it is now known.

The plinths

There is a plinth at each of the four corners of the square. The two southern plinths carry sculptures of Henry Havelock and Charles James Napier. The northern plinths are larger than those in the southern corners, as they were designed to have equestrian statues, and indeed the northeastern plinth has one of George IV. The fourth plinth on the northwest corner, designed by Sir Charles Barry and built in 1841, was intended to hold an equestrian statue of William IV but remained empty due to insufficient funds.[1]

The Fourth Plinth Project (1999–2001)

In 1998, the RSA conceived the Fourth Plinth Project, which temporarily occupied the plinth with a succession of works commissioned and established by the Cass Sculpture Foundation. These were:

Photo Dates Artist Title Description
1999 Mark Wallinger Ecce Homo Wallinger's Ecce Homo – the Latin title of which means "Behold the man", a reference to the words of Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus (John 19:5) – was a life-sized figure of Christ, naked apart from a loin cloth, with his hands bound behind his back and wearing a crown of barbed wire (in allusion to the crown of thorns). Atop the huge plinth, designed for larger-than-life statuary, it looked minuscule. Some commentators said that, far from making the Man look insignificant, his apparent tininess drew the eye powerfully; they interpreted it as a commentary on human delusions of grandeur.[citation needed][2]
2000 Bill Woodrow Regardless of History[3] A head crushed between a book and the roots of a tree.[4]
2001 Rachel Whiteread Monument Whiteread's Monument, by an artist already notable for her Turner Prize-winning work House and the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial in Vienna, was a cast of the plinth in transparent resin placed upside-down on top of the original. The light refracted through the resin, adopting a hue that was partially influenced by the weather.[5]

A committee convened to consider the RSA's late-1990s project concluded that it had been a success and "unanimously recommended that the plinth should continue to be used for an ongoing series of temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists".[6] After several years in which the plinth stood empty, the new Greater London Authority assumed responsibility for Trafalgar Square and the fourth plinth.

The Fourth Plinth Commission (2005–present)

The Fourth Plinth Commission is led by the Mayor of London's Culture Team, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group. The group is made up of specialist advisers appointed to guide and monitor the commissions for the plinth.

Under the stewardship of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, the following artworks have been commissioned:

Photo Dates Artist Title Description
External image
image icon Alison Lapper Pregnant[7]
 15 September 2005 – late 2007 Marc Quinn Alison Lapper Pregnant A 3.6-metre (12 ft) tall, 13-tonne[1] Carrara marble torso-bust of Alison Lapper, an artist who was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a condition called phocomelia.[8] It explores representations of beauty and the human form in public space, and was remade on an even larger scale for the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Paralympic Games.
2007 Thomas Schütte Model for a Hotel 2007 (formerly Hotel for the Birds) (unveiled 7 November 2007) – a 5-metre by 4.5-metre by 5-metre (16 ft × 15 ft × 16 ft) architectural model of a 21-storey building made from coloured glass. Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery and then chairman of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group that recommended Quinn's and Schütte's proposals to the Mayor in 2004, said: "There will be something extraordinarily sensual about the play of light through the coloured glass  ... It's going to feel like a sculpture of brilliance and light."[1]
6 July – 14 October 2009 Antony Gormley One & Other Over the course of a hundred consecutive days, a total of 2,400 selected members of the public each spent one hour on the plinth. They were allowed to do anything they wished to and could take anything with them that they could carry unaided. Volunteers for the Fourth Plinth were invited to apply through the website www.oneandother.co.uk, and were chosen so that ethnic minorities and people from all parts of Britain were represented. For safety reasons, the plinth was surrounded by a net, and a team of six stewards were present 24 hours a day to make sure that, for instance, participants were not harmed by hecklers. There was a live feed of the plinth on the Internet sponsored by TV channel Sky Arts.[9][10] Gormley said: "In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historical statues, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It's about people coming together to do something extraordinary and unpredictable. It could be tragic but it could also be funny."[10]
24 May 2010 – January 2012 Yinka Shonibare Nelson's Ship in a Bottle This work is a depiction of Nelson's ship, HMS Victory, with sails made of printed fabric in a colourful West African pattern inside a large glass bottle stopped with a cork; the bottle is 4.7 metres long and 2.8 metres in diameter (15.4 ft × 9.2 ft).[11] According to the Greater London Authority, the artwork is the first "to reflect specifically on the historical symbolism of Trafalgar Square, which commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, and will link directly with Nelson's column. It is also the first commission by a black British artist."[12] The work proved popular, and its removal in early 2012 led to fears that it would be sold to a Korean collector.[13][14] The Art Fund launched a public appeal to raise money to buy the work from the artist.[13] By April 2012 the money was raised, including £264,300 donated from the public and £50,000 each from The Art Fund and Shonibare's gallery Stephen Friedman.[11] The work was the first of the commissions to be relocated and is now part of the permanent collection of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
External image
image icon Powerless Structures[7]
 23 February 2012 – April 2013 Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 A 4.1-metre (13 ft) tall bronze sculpture of a boy on a rocking horse.[15] Contrasting with the square's other statues which celebrate kings and military leaders, this commission was intended to portray "the heroism of growing up".[16] The statue was unveiled by actress Joanna Lumley who called it a "completely unthreatening and adorable creature".[15] The golden boy on a rocking horse, as a celebration of youth and hope, proved an apt image for the Olympic Games, featuring in television footage around the world and appearing in numerous feature films. After its display on the Fourth Plinth the sculpture was bought by the Annie og Otto Detlefs Fond and donated to the Arken Museum of Modern Art in Ishøj, Denmark, where it will go on view in late 2015. Michael Elmgreen was born in Copenhagen, a short distance away from the museum; Ingar Dragset's home city of Trondheim in Norway had also expressed an interest in acquiring the work. Christian Gether, the museum's director, said "I was at the National Gallery for the inauguration of the sculpture and saw straight away that its irony and humanism fits perfectly at Arken. The sculpture comes with tradition and renewal and it is an ironic commentary on the obeisance of warlords. At the same time, it praises the child's spontaneity and its playful approach to life".[17]
25 July 2013 – 17 February 2015 Katharina Fritsch Hahn/Cock A 4.72-metre (15.5 ft) tall blue sculpture of a domestic cockerel or rooster. The artist has described the cockerel as symbolising "regeneration, awakening and strength".[15][18]
5 March 2015 – 6 September 2016 Hans Haacke Gift Horse Depicts a skeletal, riderless horse. Haacke says the sculpture is a tribute to Scottish economist Adam Smith and English painter George Stubbs. The horse is based on an engraving by Stubbs taken from The Anatomy of the Horse published in 1766. Tied to the horse's front leg is an electronic ribbon displaying live the ticker of the London Stock Exchange, completing the link between power, money and history.[19][20][21]
29 September 2016 – 6 March 2018[22] David Shrigley Really Good A bronze sculpture of a human hand in a thumbs-up gesture, with the thumb greatly elongated. To the top of the thumb, the sculpture is 7 metres (23 ft) tall.[19][20][23]
External image
image icon The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist[7]
 28 March 2018 – 2020 Michael Rakowitz The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist A recreation of a sculpture of a lamassu (a winged bull and protective deity) that stood at the entrance to Nergal Gate of Nineveh from 700 B.C. It was destroyed in 2015 by Isis, along with other artefacts in the Mosul Museum. Rakowitz's recreation is made of empty Iraqi date syrup cans, representing the destruction of the country's date industry.[24][25]
External image
image icon The End[26]
 30 July 2020 – September 2022 Heather Phillipson The End A dollop of whipped cream with an assortment of toppings: a cherry, a fly, and a drone. The drone filmed passers-by and its footage was broadcast on an internet livestream.[24][25][27]
External image
image icon Antelope[28]
 September 2022 – 2024 Samson Kambalu Antelope Sculpture that restages a 1914 photograph of Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley. Chilembwe wears a hat in an act of defiance, as this was illegal at the time.[29]
External image
image icon 850 Improntas[30]
 September 2024 Teresa Margolles 850 Improntas Casts of the faces of 850 trans people from London and around the world. The "life masks" will be arranged around the plinth in the form of a tzompantli, a skull rack from Mesoamerican civilisations.[29]
2026 Tschabalala Self Lady In Blue Bronze statue of an "everywoman" with lapis lazuli patina[31]
2028 Andra Ursuța Untitled Hollow equestrian statue made from translucent green resin[31]

Proposals for permanent statues

The best use of the fourth plinth remains the subject of debate and discussion. Proposals for permanent statues have included:

  • Nelson Mandela Statue: On 24 March 2003, an appeal was launched by Wendy Woods, the widow of the anti-apartheid journalist Donald Woods, hoping to raise £400,000 to pay for a 9-foot-high (2.7 m) statue of Nelson Mandela by Ian Walters.[32] The relevance of the location was that South Africa House, the South African high commission, scene of many anti-apartheid demonstrations, is on the east side of Trafalgar Square. The statue was later placed in Parliament Square instead.[citation needed]
  • Keith Park statue: In February 2008, Terry Smith, the chief executive of trading house Tullett Prebon, offered to pay more than £100,000 for a permanent statue acceptable to "ordinary Londoners" of Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park in recognition of his work as commander of No. 11 Group RAF during the Battle of Britain, as it was this Group that was responsible for the defence of London. A Greater London Authority spokesman said: "There are many worthy suggestions for statues on the fourth plinth and some people feel passionately about each of them. All proposals will be judged on their merits including its current use as one of the most high profile sites for contemporary public art in London. The cost of erecting the current work on the plinth is £270,000. The cost of a permanent monument is likely to be considerably more."[33] In 2009, a 5-metre (16 ft) high fibreglass statue of Park was placed on the fourth plinth for six months. After that period, a 2.78-metre (9 ft 1 in) bronze statue was permanently installed in Waterloo Place.[34]
  • Margaret Thatcher statue: Following the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher on 8 April 2013, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond suggested that her memorial statue be placed on the fourth plinth. Hammond's proposal was supported by Thatcher's colleague Norman Tebbit and by UKIP leader Nigel Farage. The then Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson were both said to welcome the proposal.[35][36] Johnson proposed Parliament Square as a more appropriate site. There is already an existing statue of Thatcher in the nearby Houses of Parliament.
  • Queen Elizabeth II statue: It has also been suggested over several years that a permanent statue of Queen Elizabeth II might be erected on the plinth following her death, which would explain why there has been such a long delay in choosing a permanent monument. This proposal was discussed in the press in 2008.[37] After Thatcher's death in 2013, Ken Livingstone commented, "The understanding is that the fourth plinth is being reserved for Queen Elizabeth II."[38] On Queen Elizabeth's death in 2022, MPs expressed their support for the idea of the fourth plinth being used for a statue of her.[39]
  • Captain Sir Tom Moore statue: Following Moore's death on 2 February 2021, TV presenter Nick Knowles suggested that a statue of Moore should be placed permanently on the fourth plinth, in recognition of Moore's fundraising efforts in the run up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic.[40]
  • Alan Turing statue: On 19 July 2023, following an apology to LGBT veterans from the UK Government, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace suggested Turing should be honoured for his code-breaking efforts during the Second World War, describing him as "probably the greatest war hero, in my book, of the Second World War, [whose] achievements shortened the war, saved thousands of lives, helped defeat the Nazis. And his story is a sad story of a society and how it treated him."[41][42][43]

Other uses

Commercial companies have used the plinth, usually without permission, as a platform for publicity stunts, including a model of David Beckham by Madame Tussauds during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[1] The London-based American harmonica player Larry Adler jokingly suggested erecting a statue of Moby-Dick, which would then be called the "Plinth of Whales".[44] A television ident for the British TV station Channel 4 shows a CGI Channel 4 logo on top of the fourth plinth.[45]

Fourth Plinth Schools Awards

The annual Fourth Plinth Schools Award is the education project within the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Programme. The award uses the Fourth Plinth as an inspiration to engage primary and secondary schools in London to enter a competition that encourages creative thinking around past and present artworks displayed on the Fourth Plinth.[46]

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World, the narrator speculates that Professor Challenger "in his fancy, may ... see himself sometimes, gracing the vacant pedestal in Trafalgar Square".[47]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Sooke, Alastair (3 November 2007), "Art versus the pigeons", The Daily Telegraph (Review), London, p. 4
  2. ^ See also "You'll either love it or hate it", BBC News, 23 July 1999, retrieved 8 July 2009; Kennedy, Maev (13 May 2000), "Modern art wins battle of Trafalgar Square: Vacant plinth will be showcase for contemporary sculpture", The Guardian, London; Marre, Oliver (11 May 2008), "The artist gets back in the saddle", The Observer, London.
  3. ^ For photographs of Bill Woodrow's Regardless of History, see Bill Woodrow, Regardless of History, 2000, Cass Sculpture Foundation, archived from the original on 1 August 2011, retrieved 12 February 2008.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Maev (13 May 2000). "Modern art wins battle of Trafalgar Square: Vacant plinth will be showcase for contemporary sculpture". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Rachel Whiteread, Maquette for Monument, 1999, CASS Sculpture Foundation, archived from the original on 10 February 2015, retrieved 10 February 2015.
  6. ^ Macintyre, James (6 August 2008), "From Beckham to Lapper, the ever-changing cast", The Independent.
  7. ^ a b c "Fourth Plinth: past commissions". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Square's naked sculpture revealed", BBC News, 19 September 2005.
  9. ^ Sooke, Alastair (28 February 2009), "Fancy turning yourself into a work of art?: Sculptor Antony Gormley is giving 2,400 people the chance to spend an hour alone on the Trafalgar Square plinth", The Daily Telegraph (Review), London, pp. 10–11.
  10. ^ a b "Trafalgar Square fourth plinth art 'will cause arrests': The artist Antony Gormley, who is behind the new work for Trafalgar Square's empty fourth plinth, has said he expected the piece to lead to arrests", The Daily Telegraph, London, 26 February 2009, retrieved 25 May 2010.
  11. ^ a b Brown, Mark (23 April 2012). "Yinka Shonibare's ship in a bottle goes on permanent display in Greenwich". The Guardian.
  12. ^ The Fourth Plinth: Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, Greater London Authority, 2010, archived from the original on 27 May 2010, retrieved 2 September 2010. See also Yinka Shonibare's ship docks on the fourth plinth: The making and unveiling of Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, the latest art work to occupy the much-coveted spot in Trafalgar Square, Guardian.co.uk, 25 May 2010
  13. ^ a b "Campaign to secure home for Nelson's Ship in a Bottle". BBC News. 30 November 2011.
  14. ^ Kennedy, Maev (30 November 2011). "Message in a big bottle – appeal to save fourth plinth HMS Victory". The Guardian.
  15. ^ a b c "Fourth Plinth Rocking Horse unveiled". BBC News. 23 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 by Elmgreen & Dragset". Mayor of London website. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  17. ^ Gulstad, Hanne Cecilie (25 July 2013). "Danish museum acquires Fourth Plinth rocking horse". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Blue cockerel takes roost on Fourth Plinth". BBC News. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Latest Fourth Plinth works unveiled". BBC News. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  20. ^ a b Brown, Mark (7 February 2014). "Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth to show giant thumbs up and horse skeleton". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
  21. ^ Masters, Tim (5 March 2015). "Gift Horse sculpture trots onto Fourth Plinth". BBC.
  22. ^ @LDN_Culture (6 March 2018). "This morning we say a fond farewell and to Really Good by @davidshrigley which has given TrafalgarSquare the Thumbs…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Jones, Jonathan (29 September 2016). "Thumbs up to David Shrigley's fabulously feel-bad fourth plinth". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  24. ^ a b "Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth artwork chosen for 2018 and 2020". BBC News. 21 March 2017.
  25. ^ a b Christopher Hooton (21 March 2017). "Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth to get monument to the world's 'hubris and impending collapse'". The Independent.
  26. ^ "Heather Phillipson: The End". Galleries Now. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth swirl of cream sculpture unveiled", BBC News, 30 July 2020.
  28. ^ "Antelope by Samson Kambalu". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth: Winning artworks announced", BBC News, 5 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Fourth Plinth winners for 2022 and 2024". Greater London Authority. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  31. ^ a b Khomami, Nadia (15 March 2024). "'Everywoman' and horse sculptures chosen for display at London's fourth plinth". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  32. ^ Macintyre, James (7 August 2008), "From Beckham to Lapper, the ever-changing cast", The Independent, London
  33. ^ Harding, Thomas (26 February 2008), "City boss calls for statue of war hero", The Daily Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 26 February 2008
  34. ^ "Battle of Britain hero statue will stand in Trafalgar Square: Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park will be honoured with the erection of two statues", The Daily Telegraph, London, 8 May 2009, retrieved 25 May 2010
  35. ^ Jones, Sam (10 April 2013), "Campaign for Thatcher statue in Trafalgar Square gathers momentum", The Guardian
  36. ^ McTague, Tom (10 April 2013), "Margaret Thatcher statue plan for Trafalgar Square and bid to rename Falkland Islands' capital after her", The Mirror
  37. ^ Irvine, Chris (7 August 2008). "Is the fourth plinth being saved for the Queen?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  38. ^ Watts, Joseph (10 April 2013). "Calls for Margaret Thatcher memorial to be placed on Trafalgar Square fourth plinth". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  39. ^ "Queen Elizabeth II statue in Trafalgar Square gets MPs' support". BBC News. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  40. ^ Shepherd, Dave (4 February 2021). "DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles said Captain Tom Moore should be honoured with Trafalgar Square statue". Gloucestershire Echo. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  41. ^ "Veterans Update". Hansard - UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  42. ^ "Alan Turing statue should be put on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth, says Ben Wallace". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  43. ^ "LGBTQ+ military charity backs proposal for Alan Turing statue on fourth plinth". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  44. ^ Hoge, Warren (19 August 1999), "London Journal: Plinth seeks occupant. Nelson will be neighbor", The New York Times, retrieved 30 July 2013.
  45. ^ Channel 4 television ident
  46. ^ "Teachers Resource Guide" (PDF). Fourth Plinth Schools Award. Mayor of London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  47. ^ Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (1912). The Lost World (1st ed.). London: John Murray. p. 97. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
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