Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue Premieres in Trafalgar Square
An acclaimed New York artist puts her contemporary mark on one of London’s most iconic spots
The famously empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square gained a new temporary artwork this week when London unveiled Tschabalala Self’s Lady in Blue. The artwork is a composition in bronze and two shades of blue, and shows a confidently striding woman who could be almost any young Londoner. Her form-embracing dress is a cerulean/pale azure shade that reads cleanly against the frequently grayish local skies but may blend peacefully in the event of a sunny day. Lady in Blue also sports slightly translucent jewelry in a vivid lapis lazuli; that namesake stone has been cherished since ancient times and was used to make the pigments for some of the intense blues in the medieval and Renaissance paintings hanging across the square at the National Gallery.
“My work, Lady in Blue, will bring to Trafalgar Square a woman that many can relate to. She is not an idol to venerate or a historic figure to commemorate. She is an everyday person much like the many who occupy the square daily,” explained Self, continuing, “She is striding forward into our collective future with ambition, purpose, and optimism. I have always found London to be an inspiring city; London is to thank for many milestones in my life. My first institutional show was held here in London, along with my first major gallery exhibition. I have come to know London as a truly global metropolis, and Lady in Blue reflects the sophistication of this city.”
Self, who was born and raised in New York, works in both two- and three-dimensional media, including painting, fiber, and sculpture. Her art is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney, the Guggenheim, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Brooklyn Museum, LACMA, SFMOMA, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Revolving temporary decoration was not the original intent for the fourth plinth; it was supposed to hold an equestrian statue of William IV, but the project stalled for funding in the 1840s, and the pedestal sat empty for the next century and a half. Suggested permanent occupants over the years have included Queen Elizabeth II and math genius/WWII codebreaking hero Alan Turing.
Lady in Blue is the 16th work of art to have the honor of temporary display on the fourth plinth. Other artists to participate in the program include Rachel Whiteread, Teresa Margolles, Samson Kambalu, Heather Phillipson, David Shrigley, Antony Gormley, Katharina Fritsch and Thomas Schütte.
The sculpture will be on display until 2028, when Andra Ursata’s Untitled is scheduled to replace it.