LONDON'S LIVING ARTWORK

“We will learn a lot about ourselves,” promises Antony Gormley regarding his plan for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. In a space once reserved for statues of generals and kings, Gormley won a commission to hold a mirror to Britain in all its messy humanity. His vision, “One & Other”, is for a single, different, randomly selected volunteer to inhabit the plinth for an hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days. Real people (British-based and over 16) will be hoisted by a mobile platform on to the 4.4 x 1.7-metre plinth, where they may chant, juggle, rabble-rouse or sleep in what could be the most dynamic sculpture ever conceived. Our very own Caroline Carter has applied for the opportunity (to little avail, yet), along with more than 17,000 others.

“It’s about people coming together to do something extraordinary and unpredictable,” says Gormley, an uncommonly articulate sculptor with a Turner prize in his back pocket. Many thousands of people are vying for the 2,400 spaces—the mayor, Boris Johnson, and Gormley himself allegedly among them. He joins a notable list of artists who have created work for the vacant site since 1999, including Rachel Whitehead and Marc Quinn. Yet “One & Other” ranks as the most technically and logistically challenging piece for the plinth. What will stop exhibitionists taking their clothes off? Or viewers hurling rotten tomatoes? Not Gormley: “I will be very upset”, he says, “if somebody doesn’t take off their clothes.”

"One & Other" Trafalgar Square, London, July 6th to October 14th; also on Sky Arts

~ EMILY BOBROW

Picture credit: © Cog Design (image: Digital Vision/Getty Images)