A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protestor has appeared on the plinth which used to be the home of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol.
Titled ‘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 torn down by protestors last month.
Speaking to The Guardian about 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.”
Although the sculpture was installed without permission from the Bristolian authorities, many people on social media are in support of it staying put indefinitely.
Mayor Marvin Rees has commented on the future of the plinth (July 15), saying: “My relentless commitment is to build a city for all Bristiolians, with all our differences.
“To this end, the future of the plinth and what is installed on it must be decided by the people of Bristol.”
“This will be critical to building a city that is home to those who are elated at the statue being pulled down, those who sympathise with its removal but are dismayed at how it happened and those who feel that in its removal, they’ve lost a piece of the Bristol they know and therefore themselves.”
The statue of Edward Colston – a 17th-century slave trader – was pulled down with a rope by protesters and tossed into the sea during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol on June 7. Since then, many campaigners have been calling for the removal of other statues of racist and bigoted figures across the UK.