David Shrigley says his Fourth Plinth sculpture “purports to actually make the world a better place”

Artist David Shrigley and London mayor Sadiq Khan have revealed the latest sculpture to sit atop Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth: Really Good, a seven-metre-high bronze thumbs-up.

David Shrigley said at the grand unveiling this morning: “This is a work about making the world a better place, or it purports to actually make the world a better place, which obviously is a ridiculous proposition but I think it’s a good proposition.

“Artworks on their own are inanimate objects so they can’t make the world a better place, it’s us that has to make the world a better place. So I guess we have to ask ourselves, how can we do that? Maybe I can stop speaking and let Sadiq speak.”

Sadiq Khan said: “This is the first piece of public art I’m unveiling, and I said I want to make sure because I’m 5”6 that we get the tallest artist we can, and we found him. And I said I wanted the tallest sculpture we can manage, and David’s managed it.

“The great thing about this sculpture on the Fourth Plinth is we can all be art critics, and David is looking forward to your criticism, or your compliments or comments.

“What this represents is so important: optimism, positivity, the best of us, and particularly the three most important words I say, London is open. This sculpture shows Londoners, visitors to London, tourists, EU citizens and immigrants that London is open.”

This is the 11th sculpture commissioned for the Fourth Plinth, and the tallest so far. It is cast in bronze to align with the dark patina of Trafalgar Square’s other three plinth sculptures, but is simultaneously at odds with the neighbouring artworks in its surreal and playful nature.

Shrigley hopes the thumbs-up gesture will instigate a more positive outlook for its onlookers, which seemed particularly poignant to the crowds this morning who watched the unveiling on a typically grey and rainy London morning.

Today on Instagram Stories we’re bringing you a little bit o’ live action from the unveiling of davidshrigley’s “Really Good” sculpture at London’s Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Click on the Nice face in our bio and see what’s happening. #itsnicethat #fourthplinth</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by It&#39;s Nice That (itsnicethat) on Sep 29, 2016 at 1:55am PDT