15 June 2005

Marc Quinn's sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, will be unveiled at a public ceremony on Thursday 15 September in Trafalgar Square. The sculpture was one of two works selected from an original shortlist of six other artists in March 2004 and endorsed by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. The second work, Thomas Schütte's Model for a Hotel 2007, will be installed in 2007.

Sandy Nairne, Chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group that chose the work, said: 'The installation of Alison Lapper Pregnant will be a great cause for celebration. The Fourth Plinth has remained empty for most of its 164-year history and it will be wonderful to see a work of such artistic integrity and grace installed there for everyone to experience and enjoy. It will be of compelling interest to both Londoners and visitors and enhance and endorse London’s reputation as a leader in the visual arts.'

Alison Lapper Pregnant is a portrait of disabled artist Alison Lapper when she was eight months pregnant. It has been carved from white marble, weighs twelve tonnes and will stand 3.55 metres high.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: 'Alison Lapper Pregnant is a bold, modern and complex work that challenges people's notions of beauty and disability. It also questions our assumptions of who should be the subject of a statue or memorial.

'One of the most valuable aspects of the Fourth Plinth is that it gets people thinking and debating about the place and value of public art. It forms an integral part of my vision for Trafalgar Square which is to be a vibrant, accessible space that is the symbolic as well as literal heart of London.”

Marc Quinn, artist, said: 'Most public sculpture, especially in the Trafalgar Square and Whitehall areas, is triumphant male statuary. I felt that the Square could do with some femininity, linking with Boudicca near the Houses of Parliament. Alison’s statue could represent a new model of female heroism.'

Alison Lapper, the subject of the piece, said: “I regard it as a modern tribute to femininity, disability and motherhood. It is so rare to see disability in everyday life – let alone naked, pregnant and proud.”

The public launch will take place from midday on Thursday 15 September at Trafalgar Square with Mayor Ken Livingstone and artist Marc Quinn. ENDS

For more information contact:
Ben McKnight on [email protected].

Notes to editors

1. The Fourth Plinth project is led by the Cultural Strategy team, which works on behalf of the Mayor of London, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group (FPCG). The FPCG heads up the commissioning process and recommends contemporary works for the Fourth Plinth.
   
2. Under the Greater London Authority Act the Mayor, on appointment in June 2000, assumed responsibility for Trafalgar Square. The Fourth Plinth is part of the Mayor's vision for Trafalgar Square to be a vibrant, public space and to encourage debate about the place and value of public art in the built environment.
   
3. The Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group is:
   
   Chair: Sandy Nairne Director, National Portrait Gallery
   Members: Michaela Crimmin Head of Arts, RSA
   Sarah Wason Head of Visual Arts, Arts Council England, London Office
   Jon Snow Broadcaster
   Diane Henry Lepart Merchant Banker
   James Lingwood Director, Artangel Trust
   Sunand Prasad Architect, Partner in Penoyre and Prasad
   Richard Reiser Disability Advisor
   Sally Williams Freelance Consultant, Public Art
   Bill Woodrow Artist (previously exhibited Regardless of History on the Fourth Plinth)
   
   Curator: Andrea Schlieker

Media enquiries: Press information is available from Ben McKnight on 020 7983 4071.

General public and non-media enquiries: Call the Public Liaison Unit at the Greater London Authority on 020 7983 4100.

Duty Press Officer: For out-of-hours media enquiries, please call 020 7983 4000.