Trafalgar Square (/trəˈfælɡər/ trə-FAL-gər) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, established in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. The Square’s name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar.
The site around Trafalgar Square had been a significant landmark since the 1200s. For centuries, distances measured from Charing Cross have served as location markers. The site of the present square formerly contained the elaborately designed, enclosed courtyard, King’s Mews. After George IV moved the mews to Buckingham Palace, the area was redeveloped by John Nash, but progress was slow after his death, and the square did not open until 1844. The 169-foot (52 m) Nelson’s Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues. A number of commemorative statues and sculptures occupy the square, but the Fourth Plinth, left empty since 1840, has been host to contemporary art since 1999. Prominent buildings facing the square include the National Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Canada House, and South Africa House.
The square has been used for community gatherings and political demonstrations, including Bloody Sunday in 1887, the culmination of the first Aldermaston March, anti-war protests, and campaigns against climate change. A Christmas tree has been donated to the square by Norway since 1947 and is erected for twelve days before and after Christmas Day. The square is a centre of annual celebrations on New Year’s Eve. It was well known for its feral pigeons until their removal in the early 21st century.
GIVING THE PUBLIC A VOICE: ONE & OTHER
One & Other was a public art project by Antony Gormley, in which 2,400 members of the public occupied the usually vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, for an hour each for 100 days. The project began at 9 am on Monday 6 July 2009, and ran until 14 October.
Participants
Members of the public could apply for an hour on the plinth via the project’s website. Gormley himself applied but didn’t get a place. Reviewing the event afterwards, The Guardian‘s top ten “plinthers” were:
Antony Gormley, October 2009
| Name | Performance |
|---|---|
| Gerald Chong | Demolished a cardboard replica of the London skyline, dressed as Godzilla. |
| Amanda Hall | Constructed a full-size Gormley-style human figure from bread products. |
| Ollie Campbell | Pitched a tent, from which a live chicken and two blow-up dolls emerged. |
| Steve Cousins (“The Balloonatic”)[7] | Performed in a red catsuit with a large, red balloon. |
| Sam Martin | Dressed as a football referee, Martin challenged members of the public and announced half-time. |
| Jonathan May-Bowles (“Jonnie Marbles“)[8] | Invited members of the public to text their secrets to him, which were then read aloud. |
| Neil Studd | Dressed as a living statue of Lord Nelson, in an echo of Nelson’s Column. |
| Liz Crow | Sat in a wheelchair wearing a Nazi military uniform, as a political statement on the rights of disabled people. |
| Susanna Meese-Simpson | Posed naked as if for a life study. |
| Paul Speller | Performed a succession of scientific experiments submitted by the public, including an experiment with a tin can telephone. |
Antony Gormley's One and Other: 100 Days from Stephen Archbold on Vimeo.
“So 100 days of continuous occupation of a statue’s plinth by 2400 real people has ended. It has changed my life and that of many others. No fewer than 2,400 people from as far afield as the Shetland Islands and Penzance have occupied the plinth for sixty minutes each, picked at random from nearly 35,000 who applied.
Who can be represented in art? How can we make it? How can we experience it? These are questions that have exercised me for years. Whether you see the plinth as a protest or pole-dance platform; studio or stocks; playpen or pulpit; as a frame for interrogation or for meditation, it has provided an open space of possibility for many to test their sense of self and how they might communicate this to a wider world.”
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