digitaljej: Digital Imaging and Photography

Official website

July 2009

1st September 2009 12.11am - Email recieved:

I have been chosen to take part in One & Other – Antony Gormley's extraordinary live monument due for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. My name was been selected at random from the many thousands who entered the draw – I am one of just 2,400 people who will each take their place on the plinth for an hour, to create a living monument in a place that's usually home to commemorative statues!

1st September 2009 07.00pm: - Place accepted

Go to www.oneandother.co.uk/participants/digitaljej to view my profile.

Here you can leave comments and pledge to watch.

2nd September 2009 12.00pm - Charity on board

The company I work for have an official Charity for 2009 - CHICS (Childrens Cancer Support Group).

They will provide me with a banner to place upon the Plinth during my hour. Any money I am able to raise from this event will go to CHICS.

7th September 2009 - Plinth Pack arrived

All the official information about my time on the Plinth has now arrived. (Photo's coming soon).

I've started to consider some ideas for what I will be doing for my one hour time slot. They will depend on a) finances and b) ability to create in time.

11th September 2009 - Inspired

I happened to be in London to see a couple of concerts in Hyde Park but I got inspiration for what I may do on the Plinth from of all places "Harrods"!

14th September 2009 - Visit to the Plinth

I visited the plinth around 7.00pm to see it for real and to get an idea of what my surroundings would be like... cool and going dusk!

Here are a few snaps first to give you an idea of the scale of the Plinth, then of the Plinther who was on at the time.

24th September 2009 - Started work on "outfit"

I have decided to use Gormleys work itself for the ispiration for my hour on the plinth.

This idea began with my recent visit to Harrods in London. In the window, there is a suit which has been electroplated. The original suit was by Aquascutum and the concept by Gormley.

My brother has kindly donated an old suit. I will be using paint to create the metallic effect... it's cheaper.

I spray painted the first layer of gold as a base colour.

27th September 2009 - Continued work on suit

I added bronze and copper today. The material has started to become rigid. I still need to add some green.

3rd October 2009 - Picked up a Mask

In order to keep the Gormley "Iron Man" theme, I picked up a couple of masks from Home Bargains (99p each) and spray painted one to match the suit.

6th October 2009 - One week to go

I was looking at the weather and the light conditions around 6.30pm. It was beginning to go dark. I may consider adding some form of lighting to the costume.

7th October 2009 - Photographed

At lunchtime I was photographed by a photographer for the local newspaper. It may be in the Southport Visiter or Bootle Times.

Tuesday 13th October 2009

4.30pm – Paperwork

I (we) arrived at “base camp” and we where immediately searched by security. The crew then gave us a really warm welcome and made us feel very comfortable. They talked excitedly about the project especially as there was less than 24hours to go.

I was given a verbal agenda about what I had to go through before I went onto the Plinth and I realised then why I had to turn up an hour and a half before I went on.

I had to read through a contract and sign my life away to having my face published on the internet and television.

5.10pm – Interview

It was quite informal and I was being recorded.  I was asked many questions… How did I hear about the Plinth, What would I be doing? What will I get out of my time?  What do I do for a job? What inspires me? etc…

The interviewee seemed genuinely interested which I liked.

5.30pm – Photograph

I was photographed in costume for the project records and for a book which is due to be released. It was actually the first time I has been in FULL costume.

5.50pm – Health and Safety

I was given instructions again on what I could not take onto the Plinth (Glass, candles etc) and given a grief overview of how the crane would place me into position.

5.55pm - Security check again and into the crane

It was a strange sensation being carried towards the Plinth. I didn’t feel scared or nervous, but there was an adrenaline rush.

6.00pm to 7.00pm On the Plinth

As I was being lowered onto the Plinth I began to think how narrow it looked, but this didn’t concern me.

What was my game plan? I did not have one when I stepped onto the Plinth. As a homage to Gormleys work I wanted to present myself as part of the environment (in similar fashion to the iron men in Another Place).

However, I almost immediately identified myself as a photo opportunity and that was how I directed the hour.











This would come across differently to internet viewers who couldn’t see the crowd, but I decided to interact (admittedly limited interaction) with the crowd around me, most obviously the photographers. Internet viewers would not be able to see the crowd and I feel they lost out a little because of this.







I decided to look for a person taking a picture and concentrate/stare them until they took the picture or move away. One girl clearly became unsettled by my stare and found it difficult to return my gaze, to the point she actually had to move away!







A group of school children (clearly on a school trip) found me particularly amusing. Many waved and smiled at me and tried to get me to wave back…. I did eventually to much cheering!





I moved positions around the area to ensure that anyone who wanted to take a picture could get a good view from different angle. Many people gave me a smile, wave or thumbs up as a thank you.











Weather/light conditions: When I stepped onto the Plinth it felt like a warm Autumn evening, stepping off, a cool Winter night. It was amazing how quickly it went dark. This is very noticeable in the photographs.

By around 6.30pm I actually had difficulty distinguishing the people on one side (the side where all the people where gathering. It was dark I had lights in my eyes and no glasses.













So what did I think about while I was up there?Simple answer… nothing. Any spare moment I had up there was used to soak in the atmosphere and look at Trafalgar Square from a unique vantage point.





























6.45pm - The first Mask came off.

The reveal of the first mask personified the idea on the inanimate object coming to life and also identified my last quarter on an hour. Looking at the footage on the internet and photos that where taken, the white mask stood out really well. It reminded me of Micheal Myers in the Halloween film. The first mask reminded me of Hannibal Lecter (notice the serial killer link!).













6.55pm – The Credits

I had decided beforehand that I would say hello to a few people, so I settled myself into the corner nearest the “low” camera. I gave hellos to:

My beloved, Family, Work Colleagues, Friends and also a sign showing the charity I was representing CHICS.

During the work colleagues card I did a couple of fingers gestures (not rude ones) specifically for my friend Irene. For some reason they freak her out.

















6.59pm - The second Mask came off.

This signalled the end of my time. My only regret was that no footage was captured when I took my second mask off, as the cameras where doing a long shot from the other angle.

7.00pm – Stepping Off

As I stepped into the crane I could see how wonderful the next Plinther was looking and after she stepped onto the Plinth and posed for the camera I thought how great she looked in white. It really stood out.

I spoke to the young man (Jamie I believe) in the crane with me who said that the suit looked good and asked me how I’d achieved the metallic effect. Then suddenly he shouted “whoa” as a lady began running towards us! Thankfully she was not intending on doing me any harm. She just wanted to confirm her thoughts that my hour had been a homage to Gormley’s work.

Panic over Jamie called to the hut to make me a cup of tea.

What did I get out of this opportunity?  A time of peacefulness and tranquillity. Trafalgar Square must be one of the busiest areas in London, but up on the Plinth the world seemed strangely silent.

Humphrey The Pig: Humphrey is a kind of office mascot! He generally is taken away by work colleagues and photographed. For me this was Babe 3: Pig in the Plinth!

Retrospective: I watched my hour on the Plinth on the internet and decided that I came across very different online. What the TV and Internet viewers did not see is the subtle interaction with the General Public. Although the credits at the end where best seen online or on TV.

My movements in many ways where controlled by the people around me gesturing and taking photographs. Hopefully, I came across as “photographer friendly”. It was never my intention to “entertain” and I think I successfully achieved my goal.

3rd November 2009 - Article appears in the Bootle Times and online at the Southport Visiter website

Link to Southport Visiter Website