Go fourth

The last person to strut their stuff on the Fourth Plinth, thanks to artist Antony Gormley, has stepped down. Next up, on 4 November, will be a New Zealander born in Thames: Sir Keith Park, commander of the Battle of Britain. A bronze statue of Sir Keith by Australian Les Johnson will replace a proposed Fourth Plinth project by Yinka Shonibare, whose survey exhibition showed at the Auckland Art Gallery earlier this year. Shonibare planned to put a giant ship in a bottle (Nelson’s Trafalgar) but Sir Keith has bumped him to a slot next Spring. London’s Mayor Boris Johnson pushed hard for the air ace to be cast in bronze, and many supporters want the Fourth Plinth to be his permanent home rather than the six-month stint he has been allocated.
Image: OTN mock up of the proposed installation