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Fight for Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent28.11.07
Tracey Emin is on a shortlist of artists who want to produce the next sculpture for Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth.
The woman best known for her unmade bed joins Turner Prize winners Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Jeremy Deller, 2004 nominee Yinka Shonibare and Bob & Roberta Smith, the professional name of Patrick Brill.
Previous works such as the Christ-like figure by Mark Wallinger, the plinth on a plinth by Rachel Whiteread and the current Model For A Hotel 2007 by Thomas Sch¸tte have made the commission the most high-profile public art project in Britain.
Sandy Nairne, the National Portrait Gallery director who chairs the fourth plinth commissioning group, said: "The commission has established an international reputation but it's complex and demanding and I'm just really pleased that it has brought about this amount of interest. It needs artists with some track record."
The group considered candidates and approached them informally to establish whether they were interested. The six will each produce a maquette or scale model of their idea, all of which will go on show in January. The selected artist will be announced later next year and will be installed in 2009.
Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "The fourth plinth commissions have become an integral part of the vision for Trafalgar Square as a vibrant accessible public space."
The scheme was initiated by 1998 by the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and responsibility was subsequently transferred to the Mayor and the Greater London Authority.
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Reader views (3)
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I have always advocated a permanent statue of the late Victorian explorer and advocate of cultural respect, Mary Kingsley. Her travels in West Africa and the Congo were followed by books and energetic public speeches as well as well-targeted advice to senior figures, all of which supported the view that African cultures had a merit which we should recognise and respect - rather than trying to revolutionise them (by missionary work). Her work inspired E.D.Morel, whose campaigning did much to King Leopold's tyrranous exploitation of the Congo. She died, of typhus, having heriocally gone to nurse the wounded from the Boer War. A statue to Mary Kingsley would be a fitting commission if mooted this year, the 200th anniversary of Britain starting to turn its back on slavery.
- Mallory Wober, London, England
Looks like more sensationalist rubbish for the plinth. Why not a real artist with talent?
- Vivienne Thompson, Folkestone uk
I liked the tree. To pay £250000 on the current offering is a rip off.
- Dave, London
