- Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuta are the next two artists set for the plinth
- Their work will be displayed in 2026 and 2028 on the Trafalgar Square plinth
A sculpture which pays homage to a young, metropolitan woman of colour and a life-sized person on a horse cast in slime-green resin will feature on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2026 and 2028 respectively.
However, there have been complaints that no statue of the late Queen were considered for the plinth.
Artists Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuta will join an illustrious list of renowned artists, including Sir Antony Gormley and Dame Rachel Whiteread who have previously exhibited their work in the capital.
Samson Kambalu’s Antelope currently appears on the Fourth Plinth, while the next sculpture titled Improntas (Imprints) from Mexican artist Teresa Margolles will be unveiled in September.
New York-born artist Self’s Lady In Blue sculpture will be installed in 2026.
Her bronze artwork is inspired by a contemporary ‘everywoman’, patinated with Lapis Lazuli blue – a rare and refined pigment that has been used since antiquity with global historical significance.
US artist Tschabalala Self’s artwork entitled ‘Lady in Blue’ is one of two artworks chosen to be displayed on the Fourth Plinth of Trafalgar Square
Romanian-American artist Andra Ursuta’s artwork ‘Untitled’, pictured, will be displayed on the Fourth Plinth in 2028
Samson Kambalu’s Antelope currently appears on the Fourth Plinth, while the next sculpture titled Improntas (Imprints) from Mexican artist Teresa Margolles will be unveiled in September
‘My work “Lady In Blue” will bring to Trafalgar Square a woman that many can relate to,’ Self said.
‘She is not an idol to venerate or a historic figurehead to commemorate. She is a woman striding forward into our collective future with ambition and purpose.
‘She is a Londoner, who represents the city’s spirit.’
Self said the city of London has ‘supported my artistic development’ and she is ‘beyond thrilled’ to be giving back to the visual landscape with the commission.
‘London is the best possible home for such a powerful figure as Lady In Blue,’ she added.
Meanwhile Untitled by Romanian-born Ursuta will be installed in 2028.
The hollow equestrian statue covered in a shroud embodies multiple histories of public sculpture, during an increasing debate about the use of public space.
‘My work deals with history; history makes sense of us as we try to make sense of it,’ she said.
‘Trafalgar Square is a place where multiple histories face one another in an open-ended standoff. It will never be finished. This is such a crucial, and beautiful, accident.’
The pair were selected from a seven-strong shortlist including Liverpool-born Chila Kumari Singh Burman; Argentinian Gabriel Chaile; Scottish Ruth Ewan; London-born Thomas J Price and Montserrat-born Veronica Ryan.
Models of the shortlisted artworks are on display at the National Gallery until March 17 2024
Models of the shortlisted artworks are on display at the National Gallery until March 17 2024.
The Trafalgar Square north-west pedestal has been home to art commissions for more than 25 years, with the first work titled Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger unveiled in 1999.
Justine Simons, deputy mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, said: ‘I’m delighted that Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuta have been selected as the next artists to display their work on the world-renowned Fourth Plinth.
‘These artists were chosen from a fantastic shortlist that has inspired debate among Londoners.
‘The sculpture prize has entertained and brought out the art critic in everybody for 25 years, and I have no doubt these two very different pieces will continue that fine tradition.’
The winning artworks were independently chosen by the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group, chaired by Ekow Eshun, and informed by the public who were invited to have their say.
Justine Simons, deputy mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, pictured left, said: ‘I’m delighted that Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuta have been selected as the next artists to display their work on the world-renowned Fourth Plinth’
From Nelson’s ship to a really big thumbs up: What were the past fourth plinth commissions?
The idea for the fourth plinth commissions came from Prue Leith in 1994 when she was the chair of the Royal Society of Arts.
She wrote a letter to the Evening Standard suggesting that something should be created to put on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Five years later the plinth’s first artwork was erected.
1999: Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger
The Latin title of this sculpture means Behold the Man, in reference to the words of Pontius Pilate at Jesus’s trial, according to the bible. The sculpture shows a man standing with his arms behind his back wearing just a loincloth.
2000: Regardless of History by Bill Woodrow.
He intended to challenge and question man’s inability to learn lessons from the past with his sculpture depicting a head crushed between a book and the roots of a tree.
2001: Untitled by Rachel Whiteread
While discussing her inspiration for the artwork – a cast of the plinth in transparent resin placed upside-down on top of the original, Ms Whiteread said: ‘After spending time in Trafalgar Square observing the people, traffic, pigeons, architecture, sky and fountains, I became acutely aware of the general chaos of Central London life. I decided that the most appropriate sculpture would be a pause, a quiet moment for the space.’
2005: Alison Lapper Pregnant by Marc Quinn
A 12ft, 13-tonne Carrara marble torso-bust of Alison Lapper, an artist who was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a condition called phocomelia. It was created to explore representations of beauty and the human form in public space, and was remade on an even more monumental scale for the closing ceremony of the London Paralympics in 2012.
2007: Model for a Hotel by Thomas Schutte
A 5-metre by 4.5-metre by 5-metre architectural model of a 21-storey building made from coloured glass designed to ‘feel like a sculpture of brilliance and light’.
2009: One & Other by Antony Gormley
Over the span of 100 consecutive days, 2,400 selected members of the public were allowed to spend one hour on the plinth doing whatever they liked.
For safety the plinth was surrounded by a net and a team of six stewards. Gormley said: ‘It’s about people coming together to do something extraordinary and unpredictable.’
2010: Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare
This work is a depiction of Nelson’s ship, HMS Victory, with sails made of printed fabric in a colourful West African pattern inside a large glass bottle stopped with a cork. The bottle was 4.7 metres long and 2.8 metres in wide. The artwork was the first commission by a black British artist
2012: Powerless Structures, Fig. 101 by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset
A 13ft bronze sculpture of a boy on a rocking horse. In contrast with the square’s other statues celebrating kings and military leaders, this commission was designed to show the ‘heroism of growing up’. It was unveiled by actress Joanna Lumley who called it a ‘completely unthreatening and adorable creature’.
2013: Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch
A 15ft blue sculpture of a cockerel. The artist has described the cockerel as symbolising ‘regeneration, awakening and strength’.
2015: Gift Horse by Hans Haacke
The sculpture shows a skeletal horse with no rider. Haacke said he created the artwork as a tribute to Scottish economist Adam Smith and English painter George Stubbs – the horse is based on an engraving by Stubbs published in 1766.
2016: Really Good by David Shrigley
A 23ft bronze sculpture of a human hand in a thumbs up gesture with the thumb greatly elongated.
2018: The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist by Michael Rakowitz
The sculpture was a recreation of a similar one that stood at the entrance to Nergal Gate of Nineveh from 700 B.C. and depicts a winged bull and deity made out of empty Iraqi date syrup cans. The original was destroy by ISIS in 2015.
2020: The End by Heather Phillipson
The sculpture showed a dollop of whipped cream with an assortment of toppings including a cherry, a fly and a drone – which filmed passersby and displayed them on an attached screen.