Trafalgar Square, built in the early 19^th century, is one of London’s most iconic and visited landmarks. Everybody is familiar with the National Gallery, one of the world’s most famous art museums, which flanks its northern side. Equally famous is Nelson’s Column, the tall monument at the centre of the square, honouring Britain’s greatest admiral. But the square is full of less-known, intriguing details. For example, on its southeast corner stands what is probably the world’s smallest police box, built inside the round, granite base of one of the square’s large lamps. There is barely enough space inside for two people to stand. The box had a direct phone line to Scotland Yard and served as a police observation point from the 1920s to the 1970s.

The lions’ paws and the Fourth Plinth

Then there are the huge, bronze lions at the base of Nelson’s Column. To make them, sculptor Sir Edwin Landseer studied the lions at the London Zoo, and he even had a dead one sent to his studio. Unfortunately, the dead lion decomposed before he could finish his work. Without his model, Landseer improvised the final details, and that’s why, some claim, the lions’ paws look strange: apparently, they were modelled on those of a cat. But the most interesting oddity relates to the plinths that stand at the corners of the square. The statues of two British colonial generals stand atop the southern ones, while the equestrian statue of King George IV stands on the plinth in the square’s north-east corner. The statue of another king, William IV, was supposed to be placed on the fourth plinth, but the project ran out of money. The plinth remained vacant for 150 years.

The Fourth Plinth Commission

Finally, in 1998, the Royal Society of Arts commissioned three contemporary sculptures to be displayed in succession on the plinth. The first was Mark Wallinger's Ecce Homo, a statue of Christ awaiting his death sentence. Unlike the other gigantic and austere statues in the square, Wallinger’s Christ is demure and life-size and looks tiny on the massive plinth. Some considered Ecce Homo blasphemous, while others criticized it for being Christian propaganda. While the debate raged, a special Committee discussed the future of the plinth. It considered various proposals for traditional permanent statues but was more impressed by the success and controversy generated by Ecce Homo and the other two temporary installations that followed it. As a result, it decided that the plinth would continue hosting contemporary works. “We should try to celebrate our present,” said Sir John Mortimer, head of the Committee.

A parade of exciting, controversial artworks

Today, winning the Fourth Plinth commission is one of the world’s most prestigious public art honours. A winner is selected every two years by a panel of experts after a public consultation. All the winners have generated strong reactions and lively debates. Some artworks are in stark contrast with their surroundings, like Katharina Fritsch gigantic, blue rooster or Heather Phillipson’s dollop of whipped cream topped with a cherry, a fly, and a drone. Others reflect various features of the square. Yinka Shonibare displayed a ship in a bottle, a miniature of the one captained by Lord Nelson. Other artists wanted to set up a contrast with the equestrian statue of King George IV: Elmgreen & Dragset with a child on a rocking horse, while Hans Haacke with the statue of a horse skeleton. Then there was Anthony Gormley who, instead of displaying a work of his own, made the plinth available to ordinary people; every hour for a hundred days, a different person climbed on top of the plinth to sing, talk, dance or do whatever he or she wanted. In the end, the Fourth Plinth, originally intended to honour the past and tradition, has become the place to reflect on modernity and contemporary art.

(Carlo Dellonte)
(Image: alicephoto, 123rf.com)