The feature by Michael Rakowitz is based on the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003 or destroyed around the country after the conclusion of the war.
Rakowitz, who began the project in 2006, featuring more than 7,000 objects, has made the Lamassu – a winged bull that stood by the Nergal Gate of Nineveh from c 700 B.C, until it was ruined by ISIS in 2015, has been constructed by over 10,500 recycled food packaging including Iraqi date syrup cans representing what was once a thriving industry in Iraq.
London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, who was at the presentation said “Michael’s work shows the power of art to bring to life politics, cultures and personal stories from around the world and across generations.”
The Fourth Plinth made its first commission in 2005 with Marc Quinn’s sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant, and since then featured artist Antony Gormley’s One & Other in 2009 and David Shrigley’s Really Good in 2016.
