Birthday girl set to be angel of the south

Jun 15 2009 by Tom Mullen, The Journal

A NORTHUMBERLAND student will celebrate her birthday with the eyes of the nation upon her.

For Heather Pringle will be hosting a party-for-one atop the famous empty plinth of Trafalgar Square.

The fine art student from Allendale is one of the lucky to be part of Angel of the North creator Antony Gormley’s latest high-profile artwork.

And Heather said she would celebrate her 20th birthday with her appearance on the plinth.

The project, called One and Other, will see a further 615 people climbing the huge structure as part of the artist’s quirky concept next month.

Each participant, chosen at random by a computer, will be allocated an hour to bring a constantly-changing creative twist to the piece.

Heather, one of the first participants to be announced, said: “I just entered on a whim really. And the fact it turns out it’s my birthday was just coincidence really, so that’s where the idea came from.

“I’m taking a few people down there with some champagne and a birthday cake. They’ll be singing me happy birthday.

“The only thing was my family were a bit worried I was going to do it naked, like one of Anthony Gormley’s other artworks. I could do it in my birthday suit I suppose, but I don’t think so.”