Protester’s sculpture removed from Bristol

LONDON: A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester erected on the plinth where a statue of slave trader Edward Colston used to stand has been removed.

Artist Marc Quinn created the life-size black resin and steel piece of Jen Reid after seeing a photo of her standing on the empty plinth following the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol.

The sculpture, A Surge Of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, was installed shortly before 4.30am on Wednesday by Quinn’s team without the knowledge or consent of Bristol City Council. At around 5.20am on Thursday, council contractors used webbing straps to hoist the 7.5ft high piece off the plinth and place it into a skip lorry.

Bristol City Council tweeted: “This morning we removed the sculpture. It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection. Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees issued a statement yesterday about the need for a democratic process where the people of Bristol decide the future of the plinth.”

Following the toppling of the Colston statue, Rees announced that a commission was being set up to tell a “fuller history” of the Bristol. Any decision on how the plinth should be used would be decided democratically through consultation, he said.

On Wednesday, Rees issued a statement describing the sculpture as “the work and decision of a London-based artist” and said permission was not requested for it to be installed.

During a Facebook Live on Wednesday evening, Rees said the commission would help Bristol decide “what we want to celebrate and who we choose to celebrate”.