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Yesterday morning an emaciated bronze horse skeleton took up residence on the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square. Called Gift Horse, German artist Hans Haacke‘s sculpture stands 13’ high, and is a mocking reference to its neighbor, the regal bronze statue of king George IV riding bareback.

Haacke’s riderless horse is based on The Anatomy of the Horse of 1766, a sinister, foreboding engraving by George Stubbs, who was famous for his paintings of horses. Tied to its front legs is an electronic ribbon, an LED ticker showing live data from the London Stock Exchange, linking the horse—and art—to the money and power that comes from the financial elite. In this way, the seriously malnourished state of the beast may be a nod to the ruin caused by the 2008 crash and the frail politcial and economic systems left in its place. 

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The artist, however, is much more ambiguous in his description, telling the BBC, “It is an invitation to make connections, but I would not like to give directions. I’m sure there will be a diversity of responses. That is not only true for this but any kind of art.” Arts journalist Ekow Eshun, chair of the Fourth Plinth Commissioning Group and former artistic director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), said, “Hans Haacke’s Gift Horse is an important, arresting sculpture. It asks questions about the role of money and power in modern London.”

While Grayson Perry, artist and former Turner Prize winner, tweeted his thoughts:

Next up on the plinth in 2016 will be David Shrigley’s Really Good, another bronze sculpture, this time featuring a hand with a ridiculously long thumb.

The Fourth Plinth is a sculpture competition funded by the Mayor of London and supported by Arts Council England. 

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