Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Sculpture of destroyed Iraqi antiquity makes Trafalgar Square plinth shortlist

Published 19/01/2017, 13:44
Updated 19/01/2017, 13:50
© Reuters.  Sculpture of destroyed Iraqi antiquity makes Trafalgar Square plinth shortlist

© Reuters. Sculpture of destroyed Iraqi antiquity makes Trafalgar Square plinth shortlist

LONDON (Reuters) - A 14-foot high sculpture of a winged bull made of empty date syrup cans could be greeting visitors to London's Trafalgar Square (NYSE:SQ) next year if it is chosen from a shortlist unveiled on Thursday.

Entitled "The Invisible Enemy Should not Exist," the sculpture by Michael Rakowitz took inspiration from the statue of a protective deity that once stood at the entrance to Nineveh, Iraq, which was destroyed by Islamic State insurgents in 2015.

It is among five candidates, two of which will next occupy Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth from 2018 and 2020 respectively.

Among its rivals are "The End" by Heather Phillipson which features a swirl of whipped cream, topped with a cherry. A fly has landed on the cream while a drone sits on the cherry.

Models of all five shortlisted works will be on display at the National Gallery in London from Jan. 19 to March 26.

Originally a platform built in 1841 to hold an equestrian statue of King William IV, the fourth plinth remained bare for over a century due to a lack of funds.

More recently, it has hosted a rolling roster of commissioned artworks. They include "Alison Lapper Pregnant" by Marc Quinn (2005); "Nelson's Ship in a Bottle" by Yinka Shonibare (2010) and Elmgreen and Dragset's "Powerless Structures, Fig 101," a sculpture of a boy on a rocking horse.

Currently on the plinth is David Shrigley's "Really Good", a hand giving a thumbs-up sign.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.