> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Finalists for London’s Top Public Art Spot Include a Drone-Topped Dessert and an Iraqi Deity
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/finalists-for-londons-top-public-art-spot-include-a-drone-topped-dessert-and-an-iraqi-deity/
- Published: 2017-01-23T19:23:28.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:28:01.000Z
- Description: Sculptures by Huma Bhabha, Damián Ortego, Heather Phillipson, Michael Rakowitz, and Raqs Media Collective are in the running to occupy the Fourth Plinth next year.
- Author: Claire Voon
- Tags: News, Fourth Plinth, Michael Rakowitz, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/really-good-by-david-shrigley-c-gautier-deblonde-.jpg)

David Shrigley, “Really Good” (photo by Gautier Deblonde)

For the past five months, those crossing London’s Trafalgar Square received a massive thumbs up courtesy of David Shrigley, whose sculpture “[Really Good](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/sep/29/david-shrigley-really-good-fourth-plinth-trafalgar-square?ref=hyperallergic.com)” sat atop the Fourth Plinth. The towering thumb will remain on the pedestal — which has hosted government-commissioned public art since 2005 — for another year, but the search for a new resident is underway.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/huma-bhabha-c--james-o-jenkins-2.jpg)

Huma Bhabha, “Untitled” (photo by James O Jenkins, courtesy of the artist)

Last week, the Mayor of London’s Culture Team [released its short list](https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/art-and-design/fourth-plinth-what-goes-plinth-next?ref=hyperallergic.com) of five artworks in the running for the spot. Proposed by international artists and collectives, they range from elegant to kooky. Pakistani artist [Huma Bhabha](https://www.salon94.com/artists/detail/huma-bhabha?ref=hyperallergic.com)’s “Untitled” may be the most inscrutable of all the candidates; it combines brown cork and white polystyrene to form a highly textured figure that bears just slight indications of the human form. The New Delhi–based [Raqs Media Collective](http://www.raqsmediacollective.net/?ref=hyperallergic.com)’s “The Emperor’s Old Clothes” resembles a refined, classical Greek or Roman statue, except it features no figure at all. Intended to represent the physical remnants of imperial power, Raqs’ draped white robe is the most subdued contender — particularly since it’s up against a sculpture by Londoner [Heather Phillipson](http://www.heatherphillipson.co.uk/?ref=hyperallergic.com), who combines dessert and drones to present a sleek, seductive work with sinister undertones. Described as “a monument to over-confidence and impending collapse,” it balances a tantalizing cherry atop a dollop of whipped cream — only the perfection is tainted by a predatory fly and drone. The work’s title, “THE END,” pretty sums up its unfortunately fitting message for our era.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/raqs-media-collective-c--james-o-jenkins-2.jpg)

Raqs Media Collection, “The Emperor’s Old Clothes” (photo by James O Jenkins, courtesy of the artists and Frith Street Gallery)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/heather-philipson-c--james-o-jenkins-1.jpg)

Heather Phillipson, “THE END” (photo by James O Jenkins, courtesy of the artist)

[Damián Ortego](http://whitecube.com/artists/damin%5Fortega/?ref=hyperallergic.com)’s proposal is a playful option, stacking a truck, oil cans, and a ladder to form a tower, like a child’s carefree but precarious arrangement of toys. In terms of an eye-catching color palette, the Mexican artist’s work is surpassed only by the submission of Chicago-based [Michael Rakowitz](http://www.michaelrakowitz.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com). His “The Invisible Enemy Should not Exist” remembers the many crimes of cultural destruction committed by ISIS: it takes the form of the Lamassu, specifically paying tribute to one that was destroyed when terrorists [trashed Iraq’s Mosul Museum](http://hyperallergic.com/185964/isis-destroys-mosul-museum-collection-and-ancient-assyrian-statues/). Shaped from the shells of Iraqi date syrup cans, the winged creature would stand in vivid color in a material that nods to a once-thriving industry.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/damien.jpg)

Damián Ortega, “High Way” (photo by James O Jenkins, courtesy of the artist)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2017/01/michael-rakowitz-c-james-o-jenkins-2.jpg)

Michael Rakowitz, “The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist” (photo by James O Jenkins, courtesy of the artist)

The Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group is now asking the public to weigh in, [through its website](https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/arts-and-culture/art-and-design/fourth-plinth-what-goes-plinth-next?ref=hyperallergic.com), on which sculpture should occupy London’s most prominent public art site next year. The announcement arrives just two weeks after Friends of the High Line shared its [own short list](https://hyperallergic.com/will-a-giant-boob-or-chameleon-inaugurate-the-high-lines-new-public-art-plinth/) of works competing to inaugurate New York City’s new Fourth Plinth equivalent, coming in 2018.