The latest art installation to occupy the Fourth Plinth, the ship in bottle at Trafalgar Square is the work of British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare.

HMS Victory
Drawing on the history of Trafalgar Square and the reputation of Admiral Nelson, whose statue famously stands atop the tall column at the London landmark, the ship in bottle at Trafalgar Square is a scale replica of HMS Victory, the ship which is best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic wars. Nelson died on board the flagship vessel in 1805 after being shot by a French marksman, but not before the British secured a decisive victory against the French fleet.

Yinka Shonibare
The work of British Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, the ship in bottle at Trafalgar Square takes the form of a scale replica of HMS Victory enclosed within a glass bottle. The ship's 37 sails are made with a brightly coloured, pattern fabric that Shonibare has bought from Brixton Market.

Muliticulturalism
Although commonly assumed to be African, the textiles bought from Brixton Market were actually originally based on an Indonesian batik design, made in Holland and sold in West Africa. Intended to reflect the rich ethnic diversity and multiculturalism of modern Britain, the colourful fabric is used for the sails on the ship in bottle at Trafalgar Square, which will be in place on the Fourth Plinth for over a year.

Fourth plinth
The replica of HMS Victory is the latest art installation on the Fourth Plinth, which as previously been the site for other high profile and headline grabbing exhibitions. Antony Gormley's One and Other living art installation took over the plinth for 100 days over the summer of 2009, while other past works include Thomas Schutte's sculpture Model for a Hotel and Marc Quinn's sculpture of a pregnant Alison Lapper.

The ship in bottle at Trafalgar Square can be seen from Monday 24th May 2010 and throughout 2011. The exhibition is free to attend.