Kellie Jepson: 'My experience as a Plinther'

On Friday the 25th of September, I stood on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in London.  As I am studying Anthony Gormley in A-Level Art, I thought it was a good opportunity to experience some of his work by applying to stand on the fourth plinth. I couldn’t believe my luck, when I got accepted because out of 30,000 applicants, only 2000 got to be ‘Plinthers’.

Arriving at Trafalgar Square at 9:30am, it was still surreal to me and I started getting nervous when I was interviewed.  11:00 finally came and I was looking forward to getting up there because a lot of family was there supporting me and cheering me on. When I finally got up there the view blew me away and it felt great to have the best view in Trafalgar Square!

Whilst on the plinth it was amazing how many people wanted to photograph me. Being put on a pedestal of this size made me realise for an hour what it was like to be famous. The best part of the hour for me was definitely when my mum turned up unexpected while I was on the plinth which was an amazing surprise for me.

In my hour of fame I campaigned for the charity Give Blood. To me this is an important national issue especially coming into winter, as many people will be unable to give this service because of the outbreak of swine flu. I decided to do this because although I haven’t had chance to give blood yet, many of my family have and I intend to do it in the near future.

When it was time for me to let someone else have their stand, I couldn’t believe how quick it had gone. It was a fantastic opportunity to have taken part in my favourite artists work and will be an experience I will remember forever.

The whole experience was amazing and I had a really great time. I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone and would love to do it again myself!