Art by the people

STANDING TALL: Rachel Wardell, the first participant for British sculptor Antony Gormley's work One & Other, stands on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Every hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days, a different person will take their place on the plinth as a continuous monument in time.

Taking the plinth in central London

Related Links

One & Other website

Relevant offers

It's art for the people, of the people - and definitely by the people - in London's Trafalgar Square

A 35-year-old mother-of-two stepped onto a seven metre high stone plinth in Trafalgar Square, kicking off an ambitious art project that puts members of the British public on display in the iconic plaza, alongside statues of the country's military heroes.

Artist Antony Gormley, who came up with the idea, said it would provide "a living picture" of Britain "in all its wonderful difference."

The 2,400 participants, chosen at random from thousands of applicants, include an Elvis impersonator, a man on a folding pink bicycle and a woman dressed as a pigeon.

Each will spend an hour on the 1.5m x 4.3m plinth - a statue's base - and all are free to do whatever they want with the time.

Gormley said the 100-day event would reveal "the things we find funny, the things we find scary, the things we care about, the things we love."

The performance - dubbed "One & Other" and broadcast live on the Internet - is the latest in a series of artworks to occupy an empty "fourth plinth" in the northwest corner of the square, which is also home to Nelson's Column and the National Gallery.

Rachel Wardell, a full time mother from Sleaford in northeast England, was the first participant to be hoisted onto the plinth by a mechanical lifter.

She held a sign promoting children's charities and occasionally waved to people below. Afterward, she described the experience as "really relaxing."

Next up was Jason Clark, a 41-year-old surgical nurse from Brighton in southern England, who said he planned to stand, look around, take a few pictures and read a book if he got bored.

"I'm not a performer," he said. "I'm just up there representing slightly receding 41-year-olds.

"I think not actually doing something is pretty interesting - it will get people questioning what I am doing there."

Other participants had more ambitious plans. Elvis impersonator Mark Fitch, 39, planned to pay tribute to the King.

Designer David Rosenberg, 41, said he would pedal a pink bicycle to generate electricity to light up his specially constructed suit.

Student Heather Knight, 21, planned to wear a pigeon costume, and aquatic scientist Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26, said he would highlight the importance of clean water by dressing up as excrement.

FUZZY EARS

Artist Suren Seneviratne, 22, was waiting his turn on Monday, dressed in a black-and-white costume with fuzzy ears.

"I'm meant to be a panda," he said. "My girlfriend made it for me."

Seneviratne said he was highlighting the plight of endangered species - "and actually, I just like pandas."

He also planned to hold up a sign with his mobile phone number, encouraging passers-by to phone him while he is atop the plinth.

Trafalgar Square was designed in 1838 as London's first public square and named for Admiral Horatio Nelson's 1805 victory over the French and Spanish fleets.

A statue of the one-armed admiral stands atop Nelson's Column at the center of the square, and statues of other 19th Century military leaders are nearby.

The fourth plinth was built in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed and stood empty for a century and a half.

It has been occupied since 1999 by a series of new artworks, including in 2005 the controversial sculpture "Alison Lapper Pregnant," of a naked armless pregnant woman.

Visitors to the square Monday seemed intrigued by the human artwork in front of them.

Gormley is one of Britain's post popular artists, best known for the Angel of the North, a giant sculpture of a figure with outstretched arms that stands beside a highway in northeast England

"I think it's wonderful," said Vee Wood, visiting London from Swansea in Wales. "It's a really inclusive idea."

London Mayor Boris Johnson praised the event as a "spontaneous and wonderful happening."

Unpredictability is part of the event's appeal - and a worry for organisers.

A net has been placed around the plinth in case of mishaps or suicide attempts, and organisers are relaxed about the prospect that some participants may take off their clothes.

The website carries a warning that it "may contain offensive content."

The element of unpredictability was illustrated Monday when an anti-smoking protester clambered atop the plinth minutes before the start time.

Stuart Holmes held a banner saying "Save the children - ban tobacco and actors smoking."

He descended after a few minutes, and Gormley accepted his intervention in the spirit of the work.

"I was worried that he might not leave," Gormley said. "But he did ... and that's lovely."

- AP

Newest First

Oldest First

Chris   #1   12:46 pm Jul 07 2009

"Gormley said the 100-day event would reveal "the things we find funny, the things we find scary, the things we care about, the things we love." Ummmmmm, why exactly? In this day and age people standing still on a plinth is straight up boring. To the point where "a net has been placed around the plinth in case of mishaps or suicide attempts"! If I had to stand up there for that long I'd be thinking the same. I know its easy to be an armchair critic, and contemporary art gets its fair share of uninformed flak, but this is about as exciting as eating porridge. If we want to look at people doing stuff we can do it in the comfort of our own home on the net, and I bet you I can find some huckleberry hillbillies doing something way cooler than this. I'm just bored on my lunch break, so take it or leave it peeps.

Ad Feedback