Fourth Plinth

The fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square was supposed to hold an equestrian statue but lack of funding meant that it lay empty of 150 years.   In 1999 the marvellous idea of  using it for contemporary art was started and different pieces have appeared on it over the years.  On the 25 July 2013 the latest occupant was unveiled -  Hahn/Cock by the German artist Katharina Fritsch. This vivid ultramarine bird would brighten up any day and stands out against the surrounding buildings of grey Portland Stone.  I like the whimsy of the installation being in a city square and nowhere near a farmyard.   I also think that Fritsch is having a little joke in that the cockerel is a French national symbol, and here it is popping up in Trafalgar Square whose name and statue of Lord Nelson commemorates the British naval battle against the French in the Napoleonic Wars. 

The forth plinth is always a lure for the photographer and it is a must to check the camera shot.

"All right, Mr DeMille I'm ready for my close up"

Here is a different occupant of the Fourth Plinth (left of the fountain) who has gone with the naval theme of the square.

This is "Nelson's Ship in a Bottle" by Yinka Shonibare which lived on the plinth from May 2010-2012.  A perfect replica of HMS Victory, apart from the sails of Indonesian batik.   This material was originally mass produced by Dutch traders and sold in West Africa and today it is associated with African dress.  As a black British artist Shonibare is mixing the traditional ship in a bottle with batik sails to comment and meditate on colonialism, industrialisation and emigration.  It certainly struck a chord with the British public because when it was rumoured that on its removal from the plinth it was going to be sold to Korea money was raised to keep it in England and today it is installed outside the National Maritime Museum.  This is a happy coincidence because I'm staying nearby there next month when I hope to get a better photograph.  I struggled with both the sun and the hight to get much of the intricate details in this one.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at F here