Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch, 2013
Hahn/Cock was a 4.72m tall, vivid blue sculpture of a cockerel by German artist Katharina Fritsch (Hahn being the German translation). She is well known for sculptures of humans and animals, and for using intense colour. Hahn/Cock was therefore very much in keeping with her signature style and like Model for a Hotel, another stark contrast to the monochrome facades of the Square.
Hahn/Cock (2013) by Katharina FritschMayor of London
A Symbol of Strength, Awakening & Regeneration
Hahn/Cock was made of fibreglass and took Katharina two and a half years to create. It was also a challenge to get the right shade of ultramarine blue that would withstand the elements, the weather and the pigeons.
Hahn/Cock (2013) by Katharina FritschMayor of London
The blue echoed the eruptions of water from the fountains and the animal represented ‘strength, awakening and regeneration.’
Hahn/Cock (2013) by Katharina FritschMayor of London
An Artist's Take on Masculinity
“As a German woman, when I first came to London, the area around Trafalgar Square seemed to be very much focusing on men – especially with fashion, with Jermyn Street. You have all these dandies, all these businessmen in their suits, who have to be powerful and successful. And they are posing like cockerels.” ~Katharina Fritsch
Gift Horse by Hans Haacke, 2015
The tenth commission, Gift Horse, was a skeletal, rider-less horse, stopped mid-step and set in bronze, sculpted by German-born conceptual artist Hans Haacke. It was based on an etching by George Stubbs, an English horse painter, taken from his 1766 book, The Anatomy of the Horse.
Gift Horse (2015) by Hans HaackeMayor of London
Connecting History and Power
Tied to the horse’s front leg was an electronic ribbon with a live ticker of the London Stock Exchange, the idea being to link power, money and history. The sculpture also referenced the equestrian statue of William IV originally planned for the Plinth.
Gift Horse (2015) by Hans HaackeMayor of London
An Open Interpretation
“I don’t want to give a one-line explanation. I would like people to think about what it might mean and how that relates to their life. The piece is an invitation to make connections, but I wouldn’t like to give directions as to what those connections are. I’m sure there will be a diversity of responses, as is typical of public art.” ~Hans Haacke
Really Good by David Shrigley, 2016
Really Good was a bronze sculpture of a hand made with the same dark patina as the other statues in the Square. It was cast in a thumbs-up gesture with the thumb elongated to a height of 7m.
Really Good (2016) by David ShrigleyMayor of London
The thumbs-up gesture is a universally recognised sign of approval and encouragement especially after having been adopted across social media and online spaces for immediate positive feedback.
Really Good (2016) by David ShrigleyMayor of London
It's Really... All Good
What the British sculptor David Shrigley’s version did was show that things considered 'bad', such as the economy, the weather and society, could benefit from a change of consensus towards positivity.
The exaggerated elongation of the length of the thumb also showed that whatever was being approved of was not just good, but really good.
Really Good (2016) by David ShrigleyMayor of London
An Artist's Musings
“I made a drawing of an elongated thumb that said everything is good and I wrote some text that sounded like some sort of weird political satire: If we make this sculpture, we can make the world a better place through some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.” ~David Shrigley
The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist Michael Rakowitz, 2018
The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist was a project started by Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz in 2006. The idea was to recreate, using recycled material, more than 7,000 objects looted from the Iraq Museum in 2003 or destroyed at archaeological sites across the country in the aftermath of the war.
Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist (2018) by Michael RakowitzMayor of London
An Ancient Deity in the Square
For the Fourth Plinth he recreated the lamassu, a winged bull with a human face and protective deity that stood at the entrance to Nergal Gate of Nineveh (near modern day Mosul) from c700 BC, until it was destroyed by ISIS in 2015; footage of members of ISIS drilling holes in the head of the statue as part of a cultural looting spree were shown across news channels at the time.
Fourth Plinth (2018) by Michael RakowitzMayor of London
The Ravages of War
The sculpture was made from 10,500 empty Iraqi date syrup cans to represent the once-renowned date industry decimated by the Iraq Wars. This was another piece that bought colour to the Square while also being a symbol of resilience and a reminder of the loss of culture and human life.
Fourth Plinth (2018) by Michael RakowitzMayor of London
After the Darkness, Comes Light
“It’s meant to do two things; to be a ghost that’s supposed to haunt, but also a spectral presence that’s supposed to offer some light.” ~Michael Rakowitz
National Gallery and Square (2007) by The Mayor of LondonMayor of London
Where Are They Now?
Many of the commissions live on after they leave the Plinth: Yinka Shonibare's Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle now has a permanent home at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich; Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock has been gifted to the National Gallery of Art, Washington from the Glenstone Museum; and Powerless Structures, Fig 101 by Elmgreen & Dragset was acquired by the Arken Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.
L Rhoda Molife
