Antony Gormley

Antony Gormley wants you for the fourth plinth

Casting call ... Antony Gormley's fourth plinth commission is built around volunteers from the public. Photograph: PR

The time has come for anyone who considers themself a real work of art to apply for much more than 15 minutes of fame: one whole hour of monumental grandeur, alone on top of the empty granite plinth in the corner of Trafalgar Square.

The application process opens today for 2,400 members of the public to devote one hour of their lives to becoming part of a unique work of contemporary art that will occupy the fourth plinth in the heart of London 24 hours a day, for 100 days from 6 July.

Bring a book. Bring a trumpet. Orate - mere speech won't do in such a setting - or remain silent. Bring a chair. Wear a uniform and toga like the neighbouring bronzes. Bring a cagoule in case you get the 3am slot in October, or strip off for a summer shift. The artist who conceived the project, Antony Gormley, said yesterday: "I will be very upset if somebody doesn't take off their clothes when they get there."

Almost all of the artist's work, from the Angel of the North to the iron men who stood watching from London's rooftops two years ago, is based on his own naked body.

He is of course applying for his hour - along with the director of the National Portrait Gallery which will host a live camera link to the plinth, and almost the entire staff of the Arts Council which is part funding it - but has no better chance than anyone else. A computer programme will ensure that applications through a website are randomly processed, but weighted to ensure equal numbers of men and women, and fair representation for all regions of Britain.

Gormley today described the imminent realisation of an idea that has been nagging at him for years, as "terrifying but also wonderful".

"The idea behind One & Other is a simple one," he said. "Through elevation onto the plinth and removal from the common ground, the body becomes a metaphor, symbol, emblem - a point of reference, focus and thought. In the context of Trafalgar Square with its military, valedictory and male historial statues to specific individuals, this elevation of everyday life to the position formerly occupied by monumental art allows us to reflect on the diversity, vulnerability and particularity of the individual in contemporary society. It could be tragic but it could also be funny."

Gormley is one of the most dauntingly articulate of contemporary artists. As he continued to speak fluently of how the project was "a very open work and symbolic, I hope, of an open society," he suddenly giggled. "This is starting to sound like a party political broadcast - it's not meant to."

He would be sad if only people who want to mock modern art apply, and dismayed if only those who want to rant their prejudices get through.

"It would be frankly disappointing if only the self-selecting exhibitionists get through, but I'm quite happy that there will be people with passionately held beliefs which they long for a platform to express, and others who just want to represent themselves and their communities."

The organisers promise that the solitary splendour of the volunteers will not be marred by a circle of security guards in high-vis tabards. However, snatch squads will be standing by - at a discreet distance - to intervene in case of illness or a breach of the law. The plinth itself will be girdled with a rather elegant netting, just in case.

The daunting logistics, from reserves standing by in case of cancelled trains or missed buses to organising thousands of cups of tea as the works of art descend to earth, goes to Artichoke, whose extraordinary recent street art projects include the gigantic Sultan's Elephant which ambled through the streets of London two years ago, and the monstrous spider which was one of the greatest hits of Liverpool's year as European capital of culture.

"We're good at it, it's what we do," Helen Marriage said. "There will be hiccups inevitably, but we really don't anticipate major problems. There were reports that three people collapsed in the street in Liverpool - but actually it was the same man, he kept turning up again."

The only requirement is that applicants be over 16 and UK residents for the duration of the project. The volunteers will be lifted into position and down again by a mobile lift platform, which will make the plinth wheelchair and disabled accessible. Applications can be made immediately through the website to register interest, and those chosen will be notified in three tranches from April. Unsuccessful applicants can reapply. The entire 2,400 hours will be streamed live through Sky Arts, and a permanent home is being sought for an archive of the entire project.

To register you interest for the project visit www.oneandother.co.uk or send a large envelope and £1.08 in stamps to Artichoke, Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial Street, London E16AB