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| Winged bull made of syrup cans unveiled on fourth plinth | Winged bull made of syrup cans unveiled on fourth plinth |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A re-creation of a protective deity destroyed by Islamic State in Iraq has been unveiled on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth – rebuilt with 10,500 empty date syrup cans. | A re-creation of a protective deity destroyed by Islamic State in Iraq has been unveiled on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth – rebuilt with 10,500 empty date syrup cans. |
| As the black drapery fell away to reveal what the artist, Michael Rakowitz, has described as “a palimpsest of loss” for the people of Iraq, their cultural history, and a once great export industry, tears filled the eyes of a woman from Nineveh. | As the black drapery fell away to reveal what the artist, Michael Rakowitz, has described as “a palimpsest of loss” for the people of Iraq, their cultural history, and a once great export industry, tears filled the eyes of a woman from Nineveh. |
| “It’s so beautiful, but it hurts me in my heart to see it here,” Margaret Nadir Aziz said, looking up at the sculpture of the winged bull, a guardian spirit that protected the gates of the Assyrian city of Nineveh for almost 3,000 years until it was smashed to rubble by Isis in February 2015 – its destruction recorded on video for propaganda purposes. | “It’s so beautiful, but it hurts me in my heart to see it here,” Margaret Nadir Aziz said, looking up at the sculpture of the winged bull, a guardian spirit that protected the gates of the Assyrian city of Nineveh for almost 3,000 years until it was smashed to rubble by Isis in February 2015 – its destruction recorded on video for propaganda purposes. |
| Aziz remembers the great ruins of the city from her childhood at Nineveh, near the modern city of Mosul, but she left Iraq in 1976 with her family and now lives and works in Chicago. She came to London to join her brother-in-law Odisho Odisho, an agricultural engineer who left Baghdad in 1995, and niece Diana Odisho, who now lives in London, when she heard about the unveiling of Rakowitz’s sculpture. | Aziz remembers the great ruins of the city from her childhood at Nineveh, near the modern city of Mosul, but she left Iraq in 1976 with her family and now lives and works in Chicago. She came to London to join her brother-in-law Odisho Odisho, an agricultural engineer who left Baghdad in 1995, and niece Diana Odisho, who now lives in London, when she heard about the unveiling of Rakowitz’s sculpture. |
| “Here is my country, for real here in the middle of this city, for so many people to see – wonderful, but I have tears also,” she said. | “Here is my country, for real here in the middle of this city, for so many people to see – wonderful, but I have tears also,” she said. |
| The fourth plinth, which due to 19th century austerity measures never got the planned equestrian statue of some royal or military figure, has instead become the capital’s most prominent site for temporary installations of contemporary art, occupied in the past by works by Antony Gormley, Mark Wallinger and Yinka Shonibare. | The fourth plinth, which due to 19th century austerity measures never got the planned equestrian statue of some royal or military figure, has instead become the capital’s most prominent site for temporary installations of contemporary art, occupied in the past by works by Antony Gormley, Mark Wallinger and Yinka Shonibare. |
| The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, described the sculpture’s place on the fourth plinth, where it is estimated at least 20 million people will see it over the next two years, making it “probably the world’s most high-profile piece of art”, as an act of resilience against tyranny and religious fanaticism, and a celebration of pluralism. | The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, described the sculpture’s place on the fourth plinth, where it is estimated at least 20 million people will see it over the next two years, making it “probably the world’s most high-profile piece of art”, as an act of resilience against tyranny and religious fanaticism, and a celebration of pluralism. |
| The artist’s family left Iraq in 1946, fearing for their safety as Arab Jews, and moved to the United States where he was born. The Lamassu, originally carved from a single gigantic block of limestone whose footprint was exactly that of the fourth plinth, is only part of his epic art project, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, to recreate all the objects looted from the museum in Baghdad or destroyed on archaeological sites across the country. | The artist’s family left Iraq in 1946, fearing for their safety as Arab Jews, and moved to the United States where he was born. The Lamassu, originally carved from a single gigantic block of limestone whose footprint was exactly that of the fourth plinth, is only part of his epic art project, The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist, to recreate all the objects looted from the museum in Baghdad or destroyed on archaeological sites across the country. |
| Rakowitz has never set foot in Iraq, but hopes one day it may be possible: “I have worked with so many Iraqi refugees, and they have said to me when they can return to their country, they will invite me to visit.” | Rakowitz has never set foot in Iraq, but hopes one day it may be possible: “I have worked with so many Iraqi refugees, and they have said to me when they can return to their country, they will invite me to visit.” |
| He chose to recreate the winged bull full size, but made from flattened date tins to mourn not just the sculpture’s destruction but the loss of the country’s major export trade in dates and date syrup, regarded by some as the best in the world. | He chose to recreate the winged bull full size, but made from flattened date tins to mourn not just the sculpture’s destruction but the loss of the country’s major export trade in dates and date syrup, regarded by some as the best in the world. |
| The date industry was second only to the oil trade, but only an estimated 10% remain of the 30m date trees that flourished before the Iraq war. | The date industry was second only to the oil trade, but only an estimated 10% remain of the 30m date trees that flourished before the Iraq war. |
| In parts of Iraq, he said, it was still traditional to place a date into the mouth of a newborn, “so that their first taste of life is sweet, a harbinger of good to come”. | In parts of Iraq, he said, it was still traditional to place a date into the mouth of a newborn, “so that their first taste of life is sweet, a harbinger of good to come”. |
| His sculpture came with a one-day pop-up shop offering samples of traditional Iraqi date treats, including his mother’s version of quemar, which resembles clotted cream, and her recipe that involves a quart of double cream, a quart of buffalo milk, a pillow case and a blanket. | His sculpture came with a one-day pop-up shop offering samples of traditional Iraqi date treats, including his mother’s version of quemar, which resembles clotted cream, and her recipe that involves a quart of double cream, a quart of buffalo milk, a pillow case and a blanket. |
| “Here’s to a sweeter future,” he said. | “Here’s to a sweeter future,” he said. |
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