November 4 at Trafalgar Square will be a statue of the hero of the Second World War, Sir Keith Rodney Park

October 14 in London ended project Antony Gormley ( Antony Gormley) «One and the other", in which the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square every hour raised all kinds of people . In the spring of 2010 on a pedestal put the sculpture Anglo-Nigerian artist Yinki Shonibare (Yinka Shonibare). But in those few months that separate us from this entertaining event, the pedestal will not be empty: it Nov. 4 will install quite a traditional statue, a monument to the hero of the Second World War, Sir Keith Rodney Park (Keith Rodney Park).

The author of the work is well-known sculptor Les Johnson (Les Johnson). The monument will coexist with statues of King George IV, General Henry Havelock (Henry Havelock) and General Charles James Napier (Charles James Napier), as well as the famous Nelson's Column.

Sir Keith Rodney Park (1892-1975) in 1940 headed the 11-th Air Group Royal Air Force, responsible for defense of South-east England and London. In Park thanks to the RAF were able to provide adequate resistance to the Luftwaffe in the large air battle of World War II - Battle of Britain. In addition, the park was a key figure in defense of Malta, and also commanded squadrons, the air covering the Allied landings in North Africa and Sicily.

Statue Park will be erected in honor of the 70 th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. After her work will take place Shonibare, it always moves to the nearby area of Waterloo.

appeared on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in 1841. It was intended for equestrian statue of King William IV, but the installation of the monument did not have enough funds. For many years a huge pedestal remained empty. In 1999, the Royal Society of Arts has offered to decorate his work any modern artist. The first who received this honor, was the winner of the Turner Prize, Mark Uollinger (Mark Wallinger). His work "Behold the man" was a sculpture of the crucified Christ in a crown of barbed wire. In 2000, a sculpture by Bill Woodrow (Bill Woodrow) - a bronze head, weighed down a giant book and entangled roots of dead wood. A year later it was replaced by the inverted pedestal is a life-size, created by artist Rachel Whiteread (Rachel Whiteread).

The most famous sculpture ever decorated the fourth plinth, without a doubt, is the statue of pregnant disabled artist Alison Lepper (Alison Lapper), which complied with Marc Quinn (Marc Quinn). The work was there from 2005 to 2007. Then put on a pedestal, "Model of the hotel" Thomas Schutte (Thomas Schütte), made of colored glass. Well, this summer got a pedestal "living sculptures».

Job Yinki Shonibare is a giant model of a ship in a bottle - and not any of the ship, and the famous "Victoria" Nelson, who participated in the Battle of Trafalgar. Sails of the vessel made of scraps of fabric, which the artist bought in the London market. Such fabrics are considered "African", but in fact they produced the Dutch Indonesian (!) Samples. Then they were thrown on the West African market, arguing that they "truly African". As a result, these tissues were perceived as a symbol of African identity and independence. Shonibare constantly uses in his work this material as a symbol of the fact that any element of any culture, is considered an integral part of its identity, could be introduced into this culture artificially. Fabrics Shonibare bear the "imprint" of many cultures, and in his work, he tries to draw attention to the fact that London has long been home to representatives of various races and nationalities. This to some extent contributed to the Battle of Trafalgar, was finally adopted by maritime supremacy of England, by which she was able to significantly expand its colonial territories.

Moscow art lovers can see the works Yinki Shonibare in the center of "garage" where they are exhibited in the third Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art (September 25 - October 25, 2009).

Material prepared Yulia Maximova, AI

Sources: theartnewspaper.com , london.gov.uk , artinvestment.ru