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Bible man to preach at 'prattle of Trafalgar'
With loud trousers and a bible in hand, a Preston man is getting ready to become a human statue 25ft above the streets of London.
Artist Antony Gormley was tasked with creating a statue for the empty Fourth Plinth at London's Trafalgar Square.
Instead of creating an ornate sculpture for the platform, he appealed for 2,400 human exhibits, who would each adopt the pose of their choice for their 60 minutes of fame.
Neil Sutcliffe, 50, an accountant of Park Lane, Penwortham, has been selected as one of the first 615 human statues to take to the plinth.
Neil, who is also treasurer of the Christadelphian Church in Blackburn, said: "What I am doing is I am just going to do a reading from the bible.
"I have chosen to read gospels out. I think it is an ideal thing to get people to listen."
Neil, whose 14-year-old daughter Abbii will watch him on the plinth from 1pm to 2pm on Thursday, July 9, believes Gormley's One and Other will be a big hit.
He said: "It just seemed a fascinating idea – I was down in London when he had the statues standing on the buildings.
"Then he said he wanted to put people on the plinth and I thought 'that sounds like great fun' – it would be interesting to see what it is like."
Rachel Baynton, 28, of St Paul's Road, Lancaster, has also got a slot on the plinth.
But Rachel, who is a member of the Proto-type Theatre company in Lancaster, has no idea what she is going to do.
She said: "I have no idea – I am terrified.
"I applied for it when it landed in my email – I saw the opportunity and I love his work so I applied.
"When I got an email saying I had a space I was taken aback.
"The only thing I can think of is if you have this 60-minute window into the world and have nothing burning to say yourself – you could ask people for suggestions and put their messages out for them.
"It is just my first thought."
* Both Neil and Rachel will have their performances streamed live online at www.oneandother.co.uk and the best performances will be shown on the Sky Arts channel
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Tuesday 07 February 2012
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