Oggi, mercoledì 14 Settembre si inaugura una nuova edizione del Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square a Londra, quest'anno l'opera toccherà il tema molto attuale dell'integrazione con l'opera di Samson Kambalu.
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Antelope by Samson Kambalu will be unveiled on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square on 14 September 2022. It will be the 14th Fourth Plinth commission since the programme began in 1998 and follows on from THE END by Heather Phillipson which will be on the plinth until 15 August 2022.
The Fourth Plinth is funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Antelope was selected in 2021 by the Fourth Plinth Commission Group, following an exhibition at the National Gallery where nearly 17,500 people commented on the selection.
The sculpture restages a photograph of Baptist preacher and pan-Africanist John Chilembwe and European missionary John Chorley as a sculpture. The photograph was taken in 1914 at the opening of Chilembwe’s new church in Nyasaland, now Malawi. Chilembwe is wearing a hat, defying the colonial rule that forbade Africans from wearing hats in front of white people. A year later he led an uprising against colonial rule. Chilembwe was killed and his church, which had taken years to build, was destroyed by the colonial police. In Kambalu’s work, Chilembwe will be almost twice the size of Chorley. By increasing his scale, the artist elevates Chilembwe and his story, revealing the hidden narratives of underrepresented peoples in the history of the British Empire in Africa, and beyond.
Coinciding with the unveiling of Antelope, an updated version of Kambalu’s memoir The Jive Talker: Or, How to get a British Passport will be released in paperback by September Publishing. Kambalu tells the story of how a little boy obsessed with fashion, football, Nietzsche and Michael Jackson won a free education at the Kamuzu Academy (‘The Eton of Africa’) and began his long journey to art school, and international artistic and academic success. The new edition includes a new 5000-word introduction by the artist that includes being chosen for the Fourth Plinth.
Samson Kambalu said: "Antelope on the Fourth Plinth was ever going to be a litmus test for how much I belong to British society as an African and a cosmopolitan. This commission fills me with excitement and joy."
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said:
“I can’t wait to see Samson Kambalu’s sculpture unveiled on the world-renowned Fourth Plinth in September. His work shines a light on a hidden narrative of the British Empire and will reveal how a simple hat became a symbol for the fight for equality. Heather Phillipson’s THE END has shown the power of the Fourth Plinth to spark conversation, and I’d urge anyone who hasn’t seen her sculpture to take a chance to enjoy it before August 15.”
Antelope will replace Heather Phillipson’s THE END on the Fourth Plinth. Phillipson’s vast physical and digital sculpture with a giant swirl of whipped cream, a cherry, a fly and a drone that transmits a live feed will be available to see until August 15.
The Fourth Plinth is known across the globe for bringing world-class contemporary art to London’s most prominent historical public square. For two decades it has showcased the work of great artists who have not shied away from tackling the important issues of the day. Yinka Shonibare CBE considered the legacy of British colonialism in Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Katharina Fritsch commented on gender equality and the masculine posturing in the square with her work Hahn/Cock and Michael Rakowitz’s recreation of the Lamassu, a winged bull and protective deity that was destroyed in Nineveh (near modern day Mosul) in 2015 shone a light on the devastating impact of war on cultural heritage.
The Fourth Plinth features on Bloomberg Connects, the free app that allows users to access museums, galleries, and cultural spaces around the world anytime, anywhere. Users can find out more about Heather Phillipson’s sculpture THE END, and access exclusive new content on the making of Antelope will be added at the time of unveiling. The app is available to download on Google and Apple app stores.
Samson Kambalu was born in 1975 in Malawi. He lives and works in Oxford where he is an Associate Professor of Fine Art and a lifelong fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford University.
Kambalu is an artist and writer working in a variety of media, including site-specific installation, video, performance and literature. His work is autobiographical and approaches art as an arena for critical thought and sovereign activities. It fuses aspects of the Nyau culture of the Chewa, the anti-reification theories of the Situationist movement and the Protestant tradition of inquiry, criticism and dissent.
Kambalu has won research fellowships with Yale University and the Smithsonian Institution. A paperback version of his memoir The Jive Talker: Or, How to get a British Passport will be released by September Publishing on 25 August.
The Fourth Plinth Programme is the most popular public art project in the UK. Funded by the Mayor of London with support from Arts Council England, the programme invites world-class artists to make new works for the centre of the capital city. An established icon for London, it brings out the art critic in everyone.
The programme was initiated in 1998 by the RSA with the support of the Cass Sculpture Foundation for the following commissions: Ecce Homo by Mark Wallinger (1999), Regardless of History by Bill Woodrow (2000) and Monument by Rachel Whiteread (2001). In 1999 responsibility for Trafalgar Square was transferred to the Mayor of London and the Fourth Plinth Programme is now led by the Mayor’s Culture Team, under the guidance of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group.
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 941 cities and 173 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Sculpture Week London is a new initiative that will celebrate public art throughout London in a collaboration between Frieze, Sculpture in the City and the Mayor of London's Fourth Plinth Programme in Trafalgar Square. Launching with the opening of Frieze Sculpture and including the new Fourth Plinth commission by Samson Kambalu, Sculpture Week London runs alongside the 11th edition of Sculpture in the City which opened in June 2022. It will encourage a wide audience to discover more about contemporary sculptural work in the public realm.
