{"id":766562,"date":"2026-09-10T21:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766562\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T21:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:30:13","slug":"tschabalala-selfs-splendid-lady-in-blue-graces-londons-fourth-plinth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/766562\/","title":{"rendered":"Tschabalala Self\u2019s Splendid \u201cLady in Blue\u201d Graces London\u2019s Fourth Plinth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                <a class=\"gh-article-tag\" href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/tag\/news\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\">Self said the figure is \u201cnot an idol to venerate or a historical figure to commemorate,\u201d but rather \u201can everyday woman like the many who occupy the square daily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>                            <a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/author\/naomi-polonsky\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Naomi-Polonsky-2.jpg\" alt=\"Naomi Polonsky\"\/><br \/>\n                            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/self1-31200.jpg\" alt=\"Tschabalala Self\u2019s Splendid \u201cLady in Blue\u201d Graces London\u2019s Fourth Plinth\"\/><br \/>\n            Tschabalala Self\u2019s \u201cLady in Blue\u201d (2026) (all photos Naomi Polonsky\/Hyperallergic unless noted)<\/p>\n<p>LONDON\u00a0\u2014 Tschabalala Self\u2019s \u201cLady in Blue\u201d was unveiled today as the latest sculpture for the Fourth Plinth on Trafalgar Square in London, perhaps the most famous public art commission in the United Kingdom. At nearly 17 feet tall, donning a glamorous turquoise dress and statement jewelry as she takes a purposeful step forward, the towering figure is Self\u2019s largest sculpture to date.<\/p>\n<p>Born and based in New York, Self is best known for her joyful depictions of Black women rendered in paint, fabric, and collage elements. Fabricated from bronze, her Fourth Plinth sculpture is patinated with Lapis Lazuli, a vibrant blue pigment made by grinding the semi-precious stone. Prized since antiquity, the color also appears in many historical paintings, including some at the nearby National Gallery.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite this reference to art history, Self\u2019s sculpture is resolutely a woman of today. In a speech at the unveiling Thursday, September 10, the artist emphasized that \u201cLady in Blue\u201d is \u201cnot an idol to venerate or a historical figure to commemorate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s an everyday woman like the many who occupy the square daily,\u201d Self said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-13.png\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\"  \/>The towering figure is Self\u2019s largest sculpture to date.<\/p>\n<p>    Create a free account, or sign in to continue reading.<\/p>\n<p>Registered readers of Hyperallergic get access to a limited number of free articles every month, and the Hyperallergic Daily newsletter.<\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"gh-btn\" data-portal=\"signup\" style=\"color:#00AEEE\">Subscribe now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Already have an account? <a data-portal=\"signin\">Sign in<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"News Self said the figure is \u201cnot an idol to venerate or a historical figure to commemorate,\u201d but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-766562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}