The Fourth Plinth

The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square remained empty after its completion in 1841 - it was designed for an equestrian statue of one of Britain's Colonial heroes, but the money ran out before it could be completed. It has now become Britain's most prominent site for contemporary sculpture; each new work being given 12-18 months on display. These began with Mark Wallinger's Ecce Homo in 1999 and have included Bill Woodrow's sculpture of a head bound by a book and tree roots, Rachel Whiteread's 'Monument' - a mirror image cast of the plinth itself - as well as a very short lived appearance of a waxwork of David Beckham. More recently, the pregnant, nude body of disabled artist Alison Lapper by Marc Quinn was unveiled on 15 September 2005. Placing modern art in such a prominent, historic square is no easy task and Quinn's smooth white sculpture risked rousing the critics but it became a part of the Square as much loved as Nelson and the lions. The sculpture was replaced by Thomas Schtte's 'Model for a Hotel' in November 2007, followed by Antony Gormley who with his One & Other put people on the plinth. The current installation is a giant ship in a bottle by Yinka Shonibare.

Fourth Plinth Sculptures:
 Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger (1999)  Regardless of History by Bill Woodrow (2000)  Monument by Rachel Whiteread (2001)
 David Beckham (2002)
 Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn (2005)
 Model for a Hotel by Thomas Schtte (2007) One & Other by Antony Gormley (2009) Nelson's Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare (2010)