15 September 2005

Marc Quinn's sculpture, Alison Lapper Pregnant, was unveiled today, Thursday 15 September 2005, at a public ceremony in Trafalgar Square by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

Alison Lapper Pregnant is a portrait of disabled artist Alison Lapper when she was eight months pregnant. It has been carved from white Carrera marble in Pietrasanta, Italy; weighs thirteen tonnes and will stand 3.55 metres high. It is one of two artworks selected for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square 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.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: 'Marc Quinn has created an artwork that is a potent symbol and is a great addition to London. It is a work about courage, beauty and defiance, which both captures and represents all that is best about our great city. Alison Lapper Pregnant is a modern heroine - strong, formidable and full of hope. It is a great work of art for London and for the world.'

Sandy Nairne, Chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group that chose the work, said: 'This is one of the most important public art commissions in recent years. It is an exciting work for Trafalgar Square and the Fourth Plinth and an outstanding achievement by Marc Quinn. Although crafted in the ancient quarries in Italy, Alison Lapper Pregnant is a sculpture for our own time which will be compelling for millions of people.'

Marc Quinn, artist, said: “For me, Alison Lapper Pregnant is a monument to the future possibilities of the human race as well as the resilience of the human spirit.”

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 sculpture makes the ultimate statement about disability – that it can be as beautiful and valid a form of being as any other.'

Sarah Weir, Regional Executive Director, Arts Council London, said: 'The Fourth Plinth is one of the most important and vital public art commissions in the UK. The Arts Council is committed to promoting art in the public realm and is pleased to have given financial support to ensure this vital first round of commissions. We look forward to seeing an ongoing programme of exciting, imaginative and stimulating work on the Fourth Plinth and are proud to be a part of the project.'

Marc Quinn’s Alison Lapper Pregnant is for sale and would be available to the successful purchaser in 2007.

The Fourth Plinth has been supported by Arts Council England, Arup Associates, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Haran Glass, Hare Structural Engineers, Moose Foundation for the Arts, the Trafalgar Hilton and the Independent on Sunday.

For more information and pictures contact:

Ben McKnight at [email protected]