Giant thumb, dancing cones among artworks vying to stand in London’s Trafalgar Square
Posted Sep 24, 2013 2:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LONDON – A big thumbs-up and a pair of revolving robotic cones are among the artworks contending for a place in London’s landmark Trafalgar Square.
Six works were unveiled in miniature Tuesday, two of which will be chosen for display on the square’s empty “fourth plinth,” one of the city’s platforms for public art.
They include British artist David Shrigley’s 32-foot (10-meter) bronze thumb and two 13-foot (4-meter) “dancing” aluminum cones by American artist Liliane Lijn.
Also on the shortlist is German artist Hans Haacke’s skeleton horse with an electronic stock exchange ticker tied to its leg; a sculpture shaped like a rocky outcrop by Britain’s Marcus Coates; an aluminum mask by Swiss-born artist Ugo Rondinone; and British artist Mark Leckey’s sculptural mash-up of the other statues in the square.
Two works will be chosen for display in 2015 and 2016.
The plinth was erected in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed and long stood empty. Since 1999, it has been occupied by artworks erected for about 18 months at a time.
The current occupant is a giant blue rooster by Germany’s Katharina Fritsch.
