Public Art Research Archive, Sheffield Hallam University

Temporary Work : FOURTH PLINTH PROJECT

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Artist: QUINN, Marc
TitleOfWork: "Alison Lapper Pregnant"
DateOfWork: 2005
Dimensions: 3.55 m high
Medium: Carrera marble
Location: London; Trafalgar Square
Country: UK - England
Photographer: Simon Quinn
ImageCopyright: Sheffield Hallam University
AccessionNumber: 06-0694
FileSize: 157499
The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square was built by Charles Barry in 1841 to support an equestrian statue which was never made when funds ran out for the project.

This is the second sequence of artworks to be temporarily placed on the 4th Plinth. The first swa pieces by Mark Wallinger (1999), Bill Woodrow (2000) and Rachel Whiteread (2002). The Bill Woodrow piece was similar to a maquette submitted for a competition to erect a Millennium sculpture in Sheffield.

A website devoted to the current project <http://www.fourthplinth.co.uk/> states that Marc Quinn's sculpture "is the first in a series of commissions for the Fourth Plinth under the auspices of the Mayor of London".

Part of the text on a plaque beneath the plinth states:

"Alison Lapper Pregnant
Marc Quinn (b. 1964, London)


This sculpture is a portrait of Alison Lapper when she was 9 months pregnant.
Carved from white Italian marble, the sculpture stands at 3.55 metres and /
weighs 3 tons.

To me, Alison Lapper Pregnant, is a monument to the possibilities of the /
human race as well as the resilience of the human spirit ..."


It was unveiled 15 September 2005 and will remain in place for 18 months. It will be succeeded by a work from the artist Thomas Schütte.






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Last updated 14 December 2006