Plinth art contenders unveiled in London
Last Updated: Thursday, August 19, 2010 | 12:09 PM ET
CBC News
Candidates for a spot on the empty plinth in London's Trafalgar Square include, from left, Sikander, Untitled (ATM/Organ) and Hahn/Cock. (Greater London Authority) A blue rooster, an oversized cake made of bricks and an elaborately decorated military hero are among the latest candidates for the empty plinth in London's Trafalgar Square.
The plinth has been the site of a revolving collection of contemporary art, including a much-ballyhooed Antony Gormley project last year that saw 2,400 members of the public stand on it for an hour each.
The Greater London Authority announced six finalists for the work that will adorn the plinth in 2012 and has asked the public for comments.
The contenders:
- Sikander: by Edinburgh-based artist Hew Locke, is an elaborately bejeweled and draped statue of a military man on horseback that is a reflection on heroism.
- Powerless Structures 101: by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset of London and Berlin, is a brass figure of a boy on a rocking horse.
- It's Never Too Late And You Can't Go Back: by Mariele Neudecker of Bristol, U.K., is a fictional mountainscape floating in space.
- Battenberg:by Brian Griffiths of London, is a huge replica in brick of the pink and yellow cake invented for the marriage of Queen Victoria's granddaughter.
- Untitled (ATM/Organ): by Jennifer Allora of the U.S. and Guillermo Calzadilla of Cuba, is a pipe organ that plays when passers-by push buttons on the keypad of a cash machine.
- Hahn/Cock: by Katharina Fritsch of Dusseldorf, Germany, is a giant blue rooster.
The winning work will be announced early in 2011.
Yinka Shonibare's Nelson's Ship in a Bottle, a colourful replica of Horatio Nelson's HMS Victory is currently atop the plinth.
The plinth, designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1841, remained empty until 1998 when it became the home for contemporary sculptures.
Nelson's one-armed statue stands at the centre of the square along with several other military leaders nearby.
