London's new Fourth Plinth commission seen in first image

Artist Michael Rakowitz's new commission for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is to be unveiled on March 28, according to the Mayor of London, and first images of the archeologically inspired work have just been released.

The Chicago-based artist is presenting the fruits of a project he has been working on since 2006 in which he is attempting to recreate more than 7,000 archeological artifacts from the Iraq Museum that were looted during the war or destroyed in its aftermath.

For the Fourth Plinth, he has recreated the Lamassu, a winged bull and protective deity that was found at the Nergal Gate of Nineveh from around 700 BC until 2015, when it was destroyed by ISIS.

Called "The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist," Rakowitz's version of the Lamassu will be made from empty Iraqi date syrup cans, making reference to a once-thriving industry that suffered the effects of the Iraq wars.

Set to occupy the plinth from March 2018 through March 2020, the work will be the 12th Fourth Plinth commission since the program began in 1998 and follows on from David Shrigley's giants thumbs-up sculpture "Really Good."

In the meantime, Rakowitz's first museum survey, "Backstroke of the West," is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago through March 4.