South West on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth

Margie is from Liskeard in Cornwall and is one of 207 participants from the South West region chosen by the artist Anthony Gormley’s One and Other project, to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.  Margie’s application was selected at random from more than 22,000 across the UK to a project that will see a different person take their place on the Fourth Plinth every hour, 24 hours a day for 100 days.  The project, commissioned by the Mayor of London and produced in partnership with Sky Arts, will run from Monday 6 July until 14 October 2009.

During her hour on display, Margie will crystallise key elements of what she knows to be important about her and who she is.  This will involve bringing sand and sea water to symbolise her connection to Cornwall as well as writing postcards to friends and family.  Words taken from special texts will be printed onto paper airplanes to be flown from the Plinth.   She will also be reading poems by the Cornish poet Charles Causley, who lived and worked in Launceston and whose manuscripts are held at the University of Exeter.

Margie who also works for the Cornwall Council is ecstatic about her up and coming role at the capital’s famous tourist site.  At 2am she is likely to be surrounded by London night clubbers. 

She said, ‘I will be draping banners from organisations that are important to me starting with my employers; I will have an umbrella and banner from the University of Exeter and a flag from Cornwall Council and the British Psychological Society, which I am a member of.  In fact I will be giving away psychology to passers by which may be a good thing considering the time that I am on the Plinth.’

On display there will also be mention of things that influence her on a daily basis such as the Guardian newspaper and BBC Radio Four.   Margie notified the BBC of her passion for Radio Four, which resulted in her being, invited to review the papers on the Broadcasting House programme on Sunday morning  following her stint earlier that morning on the Fourth Plinth.

All her interests and influences have made an impact in a project which she sees encouraging people to just be who they are.  She said, ‘Anthony Gormley’s idea of throwing the Plinth open to the people of the UK is fantastic – a “Plinth for the British Isles” that as Gormely hopes will reflect the truly reflect the “diversity”, “vulnerability” and “particularity” of the people who live here.’