Artrave

• The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, empty for 150 years, has become the site of temporary artworks by celebrated British artists. Since 1999 artists have been commissioned to install works for 3 - 6 month periods. The latest, sculptor Antony Gormley, has opted to give the space for 100 days 24 hours a day to volunteers selected at random to occupy the plinth for one hour and do whatever they like, starting July 2009. Some have opted to speak through the public address system provided, some to dance, one to do a giant puzzle, another to throw out dead bees. They have attracted much attention from passers- by and the press and are protected by a safety net around the plinth. Gormley says of 'One & Other': 'Through elevation onto the plinth, and removal from the common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, a symbol... In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historical statues to specific individuals, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It could be tragic but it could also be funny.'?

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