HMS VICTORY in a bottle will be planted on top of Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth from next year until 2012.
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It won’t just be any little old ship in a bottle either: this one will fill a huge container measuring 5m (16ft) by 2.5m (8.2ft). The one in the photo is a model of the model.
Designed by Yinka Shonibare, the piece of art is a modern take on the famous ship sailed to success by Admiral Lord Nelson – the guy with the hat on top of the nearby column – at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
“This artwork is particularly appropriate for Trafalgar Square and it is fitting that a replica of Nelson’s ship, on which he was fatally wounded, should sit so close to the world famous monument of the admiral,” said Robert Davis of Westminster Council, which gave the model-on-the-plinth scheme the go-ahead.
Shonibare’s HMS Victory isn’t an exact replica of Nelson’s famous ship.
In place of the original sails, it has African-style patterned fabric, continuing a culture-clash theme Sonibare has established over the years. For example, the Nigerian-British artist has previously appeared in his own work as a black Dorian Gray and made space suits out of African-themed materials.
Meanwhile, the 100-day programme of random members of the public getting a go on the fourth plinth continues, as seen via the livecam.
That finishes in October, when for six months there will be a statue of Sir Keith Park of Battle of Britain fame, whose likeness will be followed by HMS Victory.
