Since 1998, the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square has hosted a series of temporary public art interventions. The installation of Lady in Blue by Tschabalala Self marks the sixteenth commission of the program.

The sculpture, standing approximately three meters tall, depicts a woman moving forward with determination. For the artist, the figure is neither an idol meant for veneration nor a historical figure to be commemorated, but rather an everyday, contemporary woman: a tribute to those who navigate the city with optimism, purpose, and ambition.

Cast in bronze, the work incorporates a lapis lazuli patina, a material used as a pigment since Antiquity. Through this monumental presence, Self elevates a figure from daily life into the traditional language of the public monument.

Lady in Blue, by Tschabalala Self.