Putting art on a pedestal - 2nd June 2021

Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth, situated in its north-west corner, is the subject of much speculation in London's artworld.

While the other pedestals bear past prominent Brits, this one was left vacant after a plan to install a sculpture of William IV was aborted due to insufficient funds. 150 years of prevarication ensued as to how the plinth should be repurposed until 1998, when it became the stage for biannually updated contemporary artworks.

The National Gallery is currently housing an exhibition of the artworks of the six shortlisted artists, each competing to have their work in pride of place.

Commissioning Group chair and exhibit judge, Ekow Eshun, feels deeply about the aim of the project.

Ekow Eshun: "They're artists from all around the world, from Mexico, from Ghana, from Germany, from the UK. And each of them has proposed a work that will sit on the Fourth Plinth for 2 years, for a temporary period of 2 years. We've asked those artists to think about having a conversation with London about the role that art can play in helping us, really, to think more broadly about who we are, about how we live in the city of London."

Decisions will be made in June as to which artist's creation will supersede the plinth's existing masterpiece, an extraordinary work named "The End" by Heather Phillipson.

In the running to crown the highly prized rostrum are works including a colossal rocket and 850 cast faces from the transgender community. There's a tower filled with greenery, a folk tale character from Germany, a jewellery hanger decorated with domestic utensils and a 3D rendition of a photo from 1914.

Ekow Eshun details how gallery viewers' reactions to the works will be documented and considered even though it's the official panel's votes that will count.

Ekow Eshun: "The public is invited to have their say, to talk about what they like, what they don't like. And then, there's a selection process that's made by, by the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group - the judges - and we decide the next works that will go on the Plinth."