A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protestor has been removed after it was installed to replace the Edward Colston statue without permission from Bristol City Council.
In a statement this morning, Bristol City Council said: “This morning we removed the sculpture. It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection.”
Named ‘A Surge of Power’, the sculpture was created by Marc Quinn who was inspired by a protestor, Jen Reid, who stood on top of the plinth with her fist in the air after Colston’s statue was pulled down and tossed into a river by protestors last month.
When speaking of the sculpture, Quinn said: “I’ve always felt it’s part of my job to bring the world into art and art into the world.
“Jen created the sculpture when she stood on the plinth and raised her arm in the air. Now we’re crystallising it.”
However, the statue was installed without permission and has now been taken down by the Bristolian authorities.
Explaining his decision to remove the sculpture, Mayor Marvin Rees said: “I understand people want expression, but the statue has been put up without permission.
“Anything put on the plinth outside of the process we’ve put in place will have to be removed. The people of Bristol will decide its future.”
The sculpture is currently being held at Bristol City’s museum for Quinn to collect or donate to the museum, with Mr Rees adding he would “really welcome a contribution” from Quinn as a repayment for the money needed to remove the statue.