The bold and graphic installment, called “The End,” was unveiled Thursday. It is the thirteenth work of art to be seated in the Fourth Plinth as part of an ongoing commission program, after the original statue that was meant to remain there, by William IV, was never completed.
The latest 9.4-meter (30.8-foot) sculpture is the work of British artist Heather Phillipson, and will remain on the plinth until spring 2022, according to a statement from the Mayor of London.
It is the highest of 13 commissions in an ongoing series that began in 1998, after the socket was left empty for more than 150 years. The winners are chosen by a panel of leading curators and artists, following public comment.
“The End” is the tallest sculpture that has ever stood on the plinth. Credit: Neil Hall / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
It is crowned by a working drone that will broadcast a live broadcast.
” Hahn / Cock ” by German artist Katharina Fritsch was presented in 2013. Credit: imageBROKER / Shutterstock
Presentation was delayed four months due to the coronavirus pandemic. And while the giant dessert can be seen as a gesture of glee, it also looks like the sweet might be slowly melting, as the fly and drone scale their beaks.
The work is “bold and seductive,” according to Ekow Eshun, chairman of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group.
“It expresses something of the difficult times we are currently experiencing as we speak to the artistic and social history of Trafalgar Square,” said Eshun.
Marc Quinn’s sculpture “Alison Lapper Pregnant” was on the pedestal in 2005. Credit: Images of global warming / Shutterstock
“When Heather’s work was selected two years ago, we could never have imagined the world we find ourselves in today, but we always knew that this sugary whirlpool with a dystopian flavor would spark a conversation,” said Justine Simons, vice mayor of Culture and Creativity. From london. industries, in a statement.
Phillipson said his work is based on the political and physical aspects of the plaza and the plinth.
The artist said that she was honored that her work was now sitting in Trafalgar Square, adding that it magnified “the banal and our coexistence with other forms of life, in apocalyptic proportions.”
Yinka Shonibare’s “Nelson Ship in a Bottle” was unveiled in 2010. Credit: Jonathan Hordle / Shutterstock
“The End” will replace the recreation of Michael Rakowitz of the Lamassu, a protective deity who was destroyed in 2015 by Islamic State militants near Mosul, Iraq.
.
