Fourth Plinth Proposals

Jeremy Deller presented two proposals as part of the major public art project connected to the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, which have never been realized. The Fourth Plinth was originally built in the second half of the nineteenth century as a base for an equestrian statue of William IV, but it remained empty for over 150 years. The debate about its possible use continued until 1999, when the first three temporary commissions were assigned to contemporary artists for site-specific projects. Following the success of this initial initiative, a committee of experts—including Jeremy Deller himself—was established to oversee subsequent calls, invitations, and project selections. This committee officially and unanimously decided on the final use of the Fourth Plinth as a platform for specifically commissioned contemporary art installations.

In particular, in the two projects donated to MoRE, both developed in 2008, Jeremy Deller proposed an anti-monumental and deeply political vision, working –in his own words – more from the perspective of a citizen than from that of an artist, and closely tied to the contemporary situation of a country involved in the war in Iraq. The first proposal was a life-size statue of David Kelly, the British scientist found dead after his alleged suicide following statements made to the media expressing doubts about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the subsequent parliamentary investigation.

The second proposal, titled The Spoils of War, involved exhibiting the wreckage of a car destroyed by a bomb in Iraq, bringing a tangible trace of the war into what has for centuries been the heart of the British Empire, and what still stands as a place of strong monumental character.