If you have been near Trafalgar Square in London, you must have noticed a 7m high sculpture looking like a thumbs up.
This particular pedestal on the square is called the Fourth Plinth and the current artist showing their works is David Shrigley.
So what’s next for the Fourth Plinth?
2018 & 20 shortlists announced
London’s National Gallery has revealed the five shortlisted proposals for the 2018 and 2020 Fourth Plinth commissions by artists Huma Bhabha, Damián Ortega, Heather Phillipson, Michael Rakowitz, and Raqs Media Collective.
The shortlisted proposals, which are currently on show in the National Gallery’s Annenberg Court until 26 March 2017, include an empty white robe, a recreation of a sculpture destroyed by ISIS, and a scoop of parasite-covered ice cream.
Not long now to find out which two works will be selected to finally stand on the plinth in 2018 and 2020.
Shortlisted sculptures in images
“Untitled” by Huma Bhabha
– an imposing figure, the scale reflecting a modern comic sci-fi movie.
“High Way” by Damián Ortega
– a playful and precarious construction of a truck, oil cans, scaffold and a ladder.
“THE END” by Heather Phillipson
– explores the extremes of shared experience, from commemorations and celebrations to mass protests, all while being observed by a drone’s camera.
“The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist” by Michael Rakowitz
– a recreation of the Lamassu, a winged bull and protective deity, which was destroyed by ISIS in 2015.
“The Emperor’s Old Clothes” by Raqs Media Collective
– explores how power can be both present and absent in sculpture.