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Child on rocking horse is the latest statue on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth
The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square has gotten its latest adornment--a giant bronze kid on a rocking horse.
Trafalgar Square is one of London's most visited spots. In fact, it's hard not to go there since it's right in front of the National Gallery and is a nexus of several important roads. Three plinths flanking Nelson's Column support statues of a king and two generals, and a fourth plinth, originally constructed to carry a statue of King William IV, is now used as a space for temporary installations.
This latest statue is called "Powerless Structures, Fig. 101" and is meant to reflect a different take on the heroic equestrian statue. You can read the full artist's statement here.
As a regular visitor to London I've always enjoyed seeing what's coming next to the Fourth Plinth. Personally, though, I don't think any of the statues have been as good as the very first, put up in 2005."Alison Lapper Pregnant" showed an English artist born with no arms and shortened legs. The giant marble statue, seen here in a photo courtesy Vards Uzvards, showed her nude and pregnant. It caused quite a stir when it went up, with some people saying Lapper's condition was being exploited for shock value. I didn't think so and, more importantly, neither did Lapper. Instead, it showed a brave woman who wasn't afraid to get on with her life despite a terrible birth defect. That's much more impressive than a cute kid on a rocking horse.
No public domain image of the statue was available at press time. This photo of a model is courtesy Loz Pycock.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Europe, United Kingdom
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
andrew wyeth May 15th 2012 5:29PM
I love the idea of temporary exhibits on the plinth in Trafalgar Square, reflecting the idea that society and visitors to the square at theheart of London,is constantly changing. Exhibits in the square have been thought provoking to say the least! Iloved the last exhibit of the ship in the bottle,brilliant, a similar exhibit was on display at the Whitechapel Art Gallery. Yes ido like the present exhibit in the square which is used formany different purposes including, of course Gay Pride. The square is of course used for many other different purposes as well. Brilliant.