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Fourth Plinth whipped cream sculpture installation postponed

British artist Heather Phillipson’s work, The End, was due to arrive in Trafalgar Square on March 26.

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Heather Phillipson’s The End

The installation of the next Fourth Plinth sculpture in London’s Trafalgar Square has been postponed because of coronavirus.

Heather Phillipson’s The End – a whirl of cream topped with parasites – was due to be installed on March 26.

The British artist’s work is topped with a cherry, a drone and a fly.

Heather Phillipson with her design, The End
Heather Phillipson with her design, The End (Victoria Jones/PA)

It was due to replace a recreation of a protective deity destroyed by Islamic State in Iraq.

But deputy mayor for culture and creative industries Justine Simons said: “It is important that we all follow the Government’s advice to stop all non-essential contact and not hold large gatherings.

“We will wait to unveil the next Fourth Plinth commission so that Londoners and visitors can properly enjoy it.”

Passers-by will be able to use their mobile phones to live-stream what the camera-equipped drone can see on the new work.

The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist by Michael Rakowitz
The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist by Michael Rakowitz (Rick Findler/PA)

Some of the most memorable Fourth Plinth sculptures over the years have included Marc Quinn’s sculpture of pregnant Alison Lapper, who was born with no arms, Yinka Shonibare’s scaled-down replica of HMS Victory, contained in a glass bottle, and Katharina Fritsch’s blue fibreglass sculpture of a cockerel.

Antony Gormley created One & Other in which people – including a man who posed naked – took it in turns to spend an hour on the plinth.

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