cultureAUGUST09
GOfourth
get involved
S
ince July 6 a succession of
`plinthers' have been taking their
place on the Fourth Plinth in
London's Trafalgar Square as part of
Antony Gormley's fabulous One & Other
project.
For the uninitiated, the project sees a different
person taking their place on the historic plinth for
an hour, every hour, for 100 days.
Funded by Arts Council England and the
Mayor of London, applications opened in April
and are open to anyone over the age of 16.
Designed to offer a fascinating portrait of the
UK in the 21st Century, the project has become
a national talking point and essential 24-hour
viewing via the internet feed.
Around 28,000 people have already applied
for the 2,400 places which are selected ran-
domly by computer algorithm... but there's still
time to throw your headgear onto the plinth.
Here, Sam Wonfor talks to one person who
has already plinthed and another who is set to
take their plinth place in August.
S
teve Cousins is from Newcastle...
Australia. He's a self-proclaimed
"Fraudie Geordie" and lives with his
wife in Newcastle (upon Tyne).
The 30-year-old will be taking his place on
the Fourth Plinth on August 6.
"I've just received the information pack. I'll
be on the plinth from 11am until noon... no,
wait a minute, it's from 10am until 11am," he
says.
Just as well he re-read it. Imagine being
given one of the coveted hours and then
missing your slot.
"Don't," says Steve. "That'd be so em-
barrassing."
Maybe people would
think it was all very minimalist � but not if
they'd ever come into contact with Steve's
work before.
A performance and street artist whose
workhastakenhimallovertheworld,Steve's
repertoire includes comedy, giant balloon
`inscapology', fire-manipulation, toothbrush-
twiddling, juggling, whip-cracking, stilt-walk-
ing and sideshow fakir.
"You can do anything as long as it's legal.
It's pretty much a blank slate," says Steve,
who has been based in the North East for the
past four years and is currently in the plan-
ning stages of turning an old church in
Shieldfield into a circus school.
"I thought it (One & Other) would be a great
historical thing to be part of and there's a live
internet feed, so it's quite a high-profile thing
too. I put my name down and was lucky
enough to be selected.
For his fourth plinth stint, Steve has se-
lected his balloonatic act.
"There's going to be lycra and latex in-
volved. I'm doing something very visual � I'll
be climbing inside a large red balloon."
"Please tell me you've done it before," I
say. With a global internet audience watch-
ing, this would be no time to try such a thing
for the first time.
"It's all tried and tested," he assures me.
"I've done it all over the world. It's a very
visual piece. It doesn't need language and as
astreetartist,I'musedtodesigningwhatIdo
to fit the space available.
"Theplinthisaninterestingspacetofill.I'm
looking forward to it."
Get Involved!
Applications for the last selection of plinthers are still being accepted. On
August 1, places will be allocated for September. On September 1, places
will be allocated for October... the final month of One & Other.
To apply, visit www.oneandother.co.uk.
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