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The good, the bad and the naked of London's Plinth

Kevin Rawlinson
Wednesday 14 October 2009 00:00 BST
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From the man in the skin-tight yellow Morph suit to the existential humanitarian who did absolutely nothing, 2,400 people have now climbed the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to take part in Antony Gormley's artwork.

The last of the "plinthers", Emma Burns, a medical photographer from Darlington, steps down at 9am today.

The installation's creator imagined an artwork which would serve as a snapshot of Britain. "Art should be for everyone: this was an experiment to see whether everyone could be involved in making it," he said. "Whatever goes on the plinth hereafter, the square will never be the same; the memory of this summer's living sculpture in all its diversity is indelible."

Murmured collective appreciation was occasionally heard as some of the more popular participants took to the plinth, although the grandchildren of those unlucky enough to find themselves exposed to the rain in Trafalgar Square at 3am will be told a very different story. Some may well tire of hearing the one about how grandad decided to appear completely naked and was told to cover up by police (the mysterious "Simon", take a bow – just put some clothes on first).

Gormley's work saw one person appear on the square's fourth plinth every hour for 100 days.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "Over the past 100 days we have witnessed the bold, the beautiful, the thought-provoking and the bizarre. In the age of X Factor and Guitar Hero, Gormley's plinthers have quite literally stood alone."

The good...

Brian Capaloff 10-11am, 10 September

Brian took to the plinth to draw attention to the plight of a British woman, Linda Carty, on death row in Texas.

Scott Illman 1-2pm, 6 July

Illman went down well with the crowd when he dressed as a town crier to promote his chain of London pubs.

'Smartie' 1-2pm, 29 August

Dressed as Where's Wally, the incessant giggler set onlookers the task of finding a number of others dressed exactly like her.

Steve Platt 2-3pm, 6 July

Platt wanted to dress up as the Frenchman who shot Nelson but couldn't find a musket, so showed his wit with this sign.

Suren Seneviratne 3-4pm, 6 July

Suren wrote his number on a board hoping that lots of girls would call him. The Independent could not confirm if any did.

... the bad

Oliver Parsons-Baker 10-11am, 7 July

The 26-year-old took to the plinth dressed as a turd in a plea for cleaner water.

Rachel Wardell 9-10am, 6 July

First member of the public to stand on the plinth, but one of the most boring.

Rupert Meese 4-5pm, 6 July

Wanted to "celebrate humanity through the ordinary," but just stood there.

Jodie Copeland 2-3am, 12 July

The skin-tight morph suit would have been fine if he had not bent over all the time.

... and the bare

Simon 1-2am, 12 August

The "living sculpture" raised cheers, wolf whistles and laughter when he stripped off.

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