Shonibare off the fourth plinth

Fairs United Kingdom

Shonibare off the fourth plinth

Statue of Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park will go up instead

By Cristina Ruiz. From Frieze daily edition
Published online: 15 October 2009

As the last person in Antony Gormley’s One & Other stepped off the Fourth Plinth yesterday, it emerged that a more traditional statue of the Battle of Britain hero Sir Keith Park is to be erected in Trafalgar Square on 4 November. The work, by Les Johnson, will remain for six months, taking the place of Yinka Shonibare MBE’s scale replica of Nelson’s ship in a glass bottle, which will now not be erected until spring. London Mayor Boris Johnson pledged to erect a statue of Park as part of his election campaign. Julie Lomax, head of visual arts at Arts Council England and a member of the Plinth Commissioning Group, said: “We wrote a strong letter opposing the statue but we were over-ruled.”

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Comments

27 Oct 09
23:11 CET

BOB CRAIG, RUGBY

Thank goodness Julie Lomax and her Plinth Commissioning Group were over-ruled. Trafalgar Square celebrates war heroes and Sir Keith Park richly deserves this honour even if it is only temporary. The rotating art pieces on the Fourth Plinth have been fantastic and I very much look forward to Yinka Shonibare's work in 2010 and whatever follows after the temporary Sir Keith Park statue is removed. People should remember that, as far as I am aware, the cost of the statue to Sir Keith is being met by a private individual - thus allowing Westminster City Council to save up for future works on the Fourth Plinth as and when they are selected by Julie Lomax and her "crew".

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Comments

Thank goodness Julie Lomax and her Plinth Commissioning Group were over-ruled. Trafalgar Square celebrates war heroes and Sir Keith Park richly...

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