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These are some of the Londoners who will form a “living monument” on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth after being selected from more than 13,000 entries.
They include a school teacher, an architect, a university lecturer, a mother of two training to be a tour guide and an “English gentleman with a twist”, who plans to play hip-hop on a gramophone while making cups of tea.
The volunteers are among the first participants in Antony Gormley's One & Other scheme which will see a different person take their place on the plinth every hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days between July and October.
The first 615 names randomly chosen by computer have been revealed after people from all over Britain applied.
Among the Londoners chosen is Maitland Simpson, 48, a mother of two, who is halfway through training to become a Blue Badge tour guide after moving to the capital 18 years ago.
She said: “I've always had an interest in history and ever since I moved to London I've been fascinated by the galleries and the museums. It's marvellous to get the chance to be on the plinth right outside the National Gallery.”
Ms Simpson will use her hour practising her craft and reciting interesting facts about the area while sitting on a large inflatable orange chair.
Husband Gabriel Fleming and children
Andrew, 15, and Lois, 13, will offer moral support along with her fellow tour guide classmates.
Inevitably some participants have drawn the short straw, with one-hour slots at night. But TV art director Victor Martinez, 37, from Hampstead, is using his “prime-time” slot of 5-6pm on day one — 6 July — to show the “modern, multi-cultural face of the UK” while capturing the essence of a “pre-Raphaelite painting”.
He said: “I'm thinking of dressing like an English gentleman in cricket sweater and Panama hat, but with trainers and jeans and an African tribal stick instead of an umbrella. I'm also thinking of interacting with the audience and reading snippets from selected books.”
Gormley missed out on being selected for the project in the first batch of what will eventually be 2,400 participants in total.
The artist said: “It is completely randomly selected by computer. I applied and I didn't get picked.”
Architect Tim Bushe, 56, of Highbury, will use his slot to publicise the Home Farm Trust charity, which supports people with learning disabilities.
Mr Bushe, a married father of three,
said: “I've been thinking of drawing or constructing something then auctioning it to people watching to raise money for the charity.”
Clemency Otto, 37, a teacher and artist from Acton, plans to make her own art during her hour.
Someone has to clean up afterwards, so university lecturer Rachael Newberry, 41, from Kensal Rise, will give the plinth a well-needed scrub, though she said she did not want to make a “political statement”.
