Britons turn living statues atop London column

LONDON — It's art for the people, of the people — and definitely by the people.

A 35-year-old mother-of-two stepped onto an 23 foot-high stone plinth in Trafalgar Square on Monday, kicking off an ambitious art project that puts members of the British public on display in the iconic plaza alongside statues of the country's military heroes.

Artist Antony Gormley, who came up with the idea, said it would provide "a living picture" of Britain "in all its wonderful difference."

The 2,400 participants, chosen at random from thousands of applicants, include an Elvis impersonator, a man on a folding pink bicycle and a woman dressed as a pigeon. Each will spend an hour on the 5 foot by 14 foot plinth — a statue's base — and all are free to do whatever they want with the time.

Gormley said the 100-day event would reveal "the things we find funny, the things we find scary, the things we care about, the things we love."

The performance — dubbed "One & Other" and broadcast live on the Internet — is the latest in a series of artworks to occupy an empty "fourth plinth" in the northwest corner of the square, which is also home to Nelson's Column and the National Gallery.

Rachel Wardell, a full time mother from Sleaford in northeast England, was the first participant to be hoisted onto the plinth by a mechanical lifter. She held a sign promoting children's charities and occasionally waved to people below. Afterward, she described the experience as "really relaxing."

Next up was Jason Clark, a 41-year-old surgical nurse from Brighton in southern England, who said he planned to stand, look around, take a few pictures and read a book if he got bored.

"I'm not a performer," he said. "I'm just up there representing slightly receding 41-year-olds.

"I think not actually doing something is pretty interesting — it will get people questioning what I am doing there."

Other participants had more ambitious plans. Elvis impersonator Mark Fitch, 39, planned to pay tribute to the King. Designer David Rosenberg, 41, said he would pedal a pink bicycle to generate electricity to light up his specially constructed suit. Student Heather Knight, 21, planned to wear a pigeon costume, and aquatic scientist Oliver Parsons-Baker, 26, said he would highlight the importance of clean water by dressing up as excrement.

Artist Suren Seneviratne, 22, was waiting his turn Monday dressed in a black-and-white costume with fuzzy ears.

"I'm meant to be a panda," he said. "My girlfriend made it for me."