Skeleton horse and giant thumb chosen to stand in London’s Trafalgar Square

LONDON – A big thumbs-up and a skeletal horse will soon stand in London’s landmark Trafalgar Square.

The two artworks have been chosen for the square’s empty “fourth plinth,” one of the city’s major platforms for public art.

First up in 2015 is German artist Hans Haacke’s “Gift Horse,” a skeleton horse — a nod to the square’s equestrian statues — with a London Stock Exchange ticker tied to its leg.

It will be followed in 2016 by British artist David Shrigley’s “Really Good” — a 32-foot (10-meter) bronze thumb intended to radiate positivity.

London mayor Boris Johnson described the two works Friday as “wryly enigmatic.”

The plinth was erected in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never completed. Since 1999, it has been occupied by a series of artworks.