Today we announced the next two winners for the fourth plinth commission. Artist Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue is a confident young woman of colour, striding out with purpose, bringing a contemporary “everywoman” to the historical heart of London. In contrast, Andra UrsuÅ£a’s sculpture is a translucent green shroud over a figure on horseback, hovering on the edge of visibility like a ghost of history.
Hard to believe, but the corner of Trafalgar Square has been playing host to conversation-starting art for a quarter of a century. It’s often said that in London we make the rules and then we break the rules. Whether it’s punk in the Seventies or McQueen in the Nineties, we are a city of deep tradition with a rebel spirit. Which is why the fourth plinth could only happen in London. For centuries the historical landscape of Trafalgar Square has remained the same — with its statues and monuments. But the fourth plinth brings bold contemporary art that makes our public realm pop.
But how did it even happen? The original plan was for a statue of William IV, but the money ran out and it stayed empty for 150 years. Restaurateur Dame Prue Leith was an early champion and, in 1998, the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) experimented with three temporary sculptures, which led to (you guessed it) a committee. Led by Sir John Mortimer, 8,000 members of the public had their say and it “unanimously recommended” that the rolling artworks continue.
Then in 2000, London got its first mayor and responsibility for Trafalgar Square passed to City Hall, including the fourth plinth — which landed on my desk. I thought, great, this could be the Turner Prize for public art! The independent Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group was established to take charge of it (the Mayor of London doesn’t choose, as many like to claim!) and off it went.
I first worked on Marc Quinn’s Alison Lapper Pregnant, a fearless celebration of disability and beauty in the classical marble tradition. The response was unbelievable. People loved and hated it in equal measure and it got everyone talking about some big stuff. If the famous marble one-armed Venus de Milo was considered beautiful, why not Alison Lapper?
There have been ships in bottles, giant blue cockerels, gold boys on rocking horses and precarious blobs of cream
Since then, there have been ships in bottles, giant blue cockerels, gold boys on rocking horses and precarious blobs of cream. All with more to them than meets the eye, and once we scratch the surface we invariably find new stories and meaning.
Often the artists can’t believe their work will be in such a prominent civic space. Hans Haacke was aghast when I told him he’d won. His bronze horse skeleton exploring how power, money and history intertwine. Still bruised from the Seventies when New York’s Guggenheim cancelled his solo show, allegedly for exploring similar territory, he was genuinely humbled that London had the guts to pick it.
Michael Rakowitz recreated an ancient Lamasu, destroyed by war in Iraq. Built from date syrup cans, a staple industry also decimated by the war. But when Antony Gormley’s One and Other made it into an Archers storyline, I knew we’d hit the mainstream!
The fourth plinth regularly features at the top of “Favourite Things About London” lists and more than 30,000 London school kids have had brilliant ideas for the Fourth Plinth Schools Awards.
So when we say London is a world creative capital, it’s not just about the jobs and the economy — it’s also about the power of culture to signal our values and our identity. London is a dynamic city, we are also a global centre for contemporary art, so why wouldn’t we want a high-profile platform to celebrate it?
For 150 years the fourth plinth was empty, no one noticed, no one cared. But since we put contemporary art on it, virtually every week there is a new suggestion. I often say the fourth plinth turns everyone into an art critic, from cabbies to school kids everyone has a say.
So at 25 years old, the fourth plinth has come of age — it’s the most successful public art commission in the world, but its rebel spirit is undimmed. And that for me is the secret of its success. As Vivienne Westwood once said, “I may be a rebel, but I am not an outsider”.
