One & Other

This evening I applied to occupy the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square for one hour as part of Anthony Gormley's One and Other project.

There are four plinths in Trafalgar Square, one in each corner. Three of them are occupied by statues of military men. The fourth was destined to feature an equestrian statue of William IV but was scrapped due to insufficient funds and remained empty. Then, in 1999, the Arts Council set up the Fourth Plinth Project which used the plinth to showcase the work of contemporary artists (Ecce Homo, by Mark Wallinger (1999), Regardless of History, by Bill Woodrow (2000) and Monument by Rachel Whiteread (2001). The project is now managed by the Greater London Authority who commissioned Marc Quinn's Alison Lapper Pregnant and Thomas Schütte's Model for a Hotel 2007.

The latest work, One and Other, was chosen from a shortlist of six. We were in London during the public consultation and I voted for Anthony Gormley. His concept of elevating everyday life to a position normally occupied by monumental art appealed to me and I knew that if he won I would apply to be a part of it.

I realise that encouraging others to apply will reduce my chances of being selected, but hey, life's for sharing, so log on and sign up. You've nothing but the coach fare to London to lose!

But if I can't convince you then maybe the man himself can ...


Antony Gormley on the Fourth Plinth from One & Other on Vimeo.

Now all I've got to do is decide what I'm going to do for an hour! Any ideas?