As we say goodbye to Katharina Fritsch’s blue cockerel, Trafalgar Square will be getting another animal resident atop the Fourth Plinth with German artist, Hans Haacke's ‘Gift Horse’. At four metres high, the latest commission mimics its neighbouring equestrian statue of George IV, but without the royal embellishment. Based on an etching by George Stubbs (whose famous ‘Whistlejacket’ is on show in the nearby National Gallery), the giant horse skeleton has a sinister tone, both mocking the original use of the plinth for another equestrian statue of William IV as well as laying bare Britain’s class system. Never one to shy away from making a point, Haacke has included an electronic ticker from the London Stock Exchange around the horse’s raised leg to further push home the inequalities of global finance. The question is, will we look this gift horse in the mouth?
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