Resistance on the Plinth

Director-Performer Liz Crow
Art Director Dave Paul
Live installation as part of One & Other on the Fourth Plinth
8 August 2009, 10.00-11.00pm

Artist and activist Liz Crow sat on the plinth in a crowded Saturday night Square on her wheelchair wearing full Nazi regalia to draw attention to a hidden history and the message it holds for us all today.

Seventy years ago, the Nazis instituted their first official programme of murder. It targeted disabled people and became the blueprint for the Final Solution to wipe out Jews, gay people, gypsies and other social groups. Today, the development of pre-natal screening and a rush to legal rights for newly disabled people to assisted suicide, show that disabled people's right to life still needs to be defended. With a rise in hate crime, disabled children still excluded from mainstream schools, and over 340,000 disabled people (more than the population of Cardiff) living in institutions, disabled people still experience those historical values as a daily threat.

Liz was lifted into place covered in a white shroud. After ten minutes, she pulled off the sheet to reveal the Nazi uniform, and sat motionless, overlooking the Square. Ten minutes later she lifted a flag, bearing the words 'First they came for the sick, the so-called incurables and I did not speak out - because I was not ill', taken from an early version of the anti-Nazi theologian Martin Niemoeller's much-quoted verse*. She then pulled off the Nazi regalia, throwing away the swastika armband, and took up the flag again. On a summer's evening, with the flag fluttering in the breeze, the image was reminiscent of Delacroix's 'Liberty Leading the People'.

*First they came for the sick, the so-called incurables
And I did not speak out - because I was not ill.
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
And I did not speak out - because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me.
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
Pastor Niemoeller, 1946

The provocative image stopped people in their tracks. A spokesperson for One & Other said Twitter had "gone ballistic".

The One & Other project takes place on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth which is home to temporary works of art commissioned from leading national and international artists. Sculptor Antony Gormley set out to create a living monument that captures modern Britain. Over the course of 100 days, 2400 participants each spends one hour alone on the empty plinth.

"Many of the plinthers have used their hour to espouse favourite causes, be it children's charities, bee preservation or understanding of chess. But few if any have produced a piece of work as compelling as this, which will undoubtedly remain one of the most significant contributions to Gormley's project. Apart from the importance of the content, it presented a series of memorable images, carefully choreographed to take advantage of space and time."
Allan Sutherland, writer

"This is an image to make people stop and look and think. There is no room to be complacent. It was ordinary doctors and nurses who voluntarily murdered disabled people and it was ordinary people who stood back and let it happen. The hidden holocaust as it is sometimes referred to is something that could easily happen again. You may think that is ridiculous, but they thought that last time too."
Mat Fraser, actor and presenter

"Compelling."
Bristol Evening Post

"...a dignified but powerful statement against extreme right wing politics in its worse manifestation."
Crippen's blog

"Brave & startling."
on Twitter

"A REALLY striking/evocative/emotive image."
on Twitter

"Very moving, and your silent clarity caused me (I hope amongst many others) to question further my previous over-idealistic beliefs about the 'right to die'..."
on Facebook

"We all got up early (6am here) to watch you for the hour from Brisbane Australia. Wow well done, the imagery was so effective."
on Facebook

"incredible... so powerful my eyes leaked ;-)"
on Facebook

"A strong piece of silent protest that made more of an impact than a thousand words!"
on Facebook

"...really powerful... quite heart stopping. Your stint has been one of the most remarkable I've seen"
on Facebook

"...beautifully done. You had us all rivited to the computer for the whole hour."
on Facebook

"You were brilliant - so powerful. People were given a message most of them had never heard before. I hope they pass it on!"
on Facebook

"Great concept. Bold image. Important message."
One & Other comments

"We must speak out for the past and current threat of eugenics and encouraging people to die rather than live. Go Liz."
One & Other comments

"Everyone should watch - and speak out. It's happening today, without the uniform."
One & Other comments

"Beautiful and brave. Thank you so much for this hour. Art and meaning. Well done."
One & Other comments

Listed in The Guardian's Trafalgar Top Ten on the plinth

This page last modified: 21 Dec 2009