A new artwork by artist Heather Phillipson was unveiled on Thursday 30 July, on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square.

It is the 13th Fourth Plinth commission since the programme began in 1998, it is also the tallest to date, measuring 9.4m and weighing 9 tonnes, and follows on from The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist by Michael Rakowitz. Both artists were selected in 2017 by the Fourth Plinth Commission Group, following an exhibition at the National Gallery where 10,000 people voted for their favourite shortlisted artwork.

Heather Phillipson’s vast physical and digital sculpture tops the Fourth Plinth with a giant swirl of whipped cream, a cherry, a fly and a drone that transmits a live feed of Trafalgar Square. Entitled THE END it suggests both exuberance and unease, responding to Trafalgar Square as a site of celebration and protest, that is shared with other forms of life. The live feed of Trafalgar Square picked up by the drone’s camera is visible on a dedicated website www.theend.today giving a sculpture’s eye perspective.

THE END is the first fully accessible commission on the Fourth Plinth. There is a braille panel included on the plaque, a tactile image of the work, and an audio description of the work on the GLA’s website.

Acknowledging the seismic global changes of the past few months, Heather Phillipson has also been commissioned by Art on the Underground to produce a new online work to accompany THE END. A counterpoint in tone to her Fourth Plinth work, Phillipson’s new audio-collage VOLTA reckons with upheaval, renewal and possibility and combines her distinctive layering of voice, sound effects and music samples. It is available on THE END’s dedicated website, as well as the Art on the Underground website, for the duration of the Fourth Plinth installation.