Tracy Emin, Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor are on the shortlist to produce an artwork for the fourth plinth in central London
A group of meerkats, a ship in a bottle, and a bombed-out Iraqi vehicle are among the shortlisted suggestions to fill the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Artists Jeremy Deller, Tracy Emin, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shonibare and Bob & Roberta Smith have all been shortlisted for the competition, which would see a new commission placed on the plinth from early 2009.
Antony Gormley’s unique idea for the plinth would be for almost 9,000 members of the public to volunteer to stand on the safety-modified plinth for an hour at a time, 24 hours a day for the coming year. He was assisted in his design by Arup.
Bob & Roberta Smith would install an illuminated peace sign powered by the wind and the sun installed on the plinth.
Deller’s idea would see a partially-destroyed Iraqi vehicle be displayed on the plinth as an inversion of the classical idea of the spoils of war, while Emin would display a sculpture of a colony of meerkats.
Kapoor’s sculpture would be a monument of mirrors reflecting the sky, while Yinka Shonibare plans to make a scale replica of Nelson’s HMS Victory in a giant glass bottle.
The Fourth Plinth programme sees a rolling programme of new artistic commissions fill the vacant space in Trafalgar Square.
The most recent commission was by architect Thomas Schutte, whose Model for a Hotel has been installed on the plinth since November last year.
1 Readers' comment