London – The sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester who appeared on a pedestal formerly occupied by a statue of a slave trader, which was downed and thrown into a river last month in Bristol, England, was removed Thursday by the city. The city of Bristol has yet to officially decide what to do with the plinth that previously contained a statue of Edward Colston.
In a statement on Wednesday, Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said the replacement statue of a female protester with her fist raised to the sky, which appeared earlier that morning, had been lifted without permission.
“We have established a history commission that will help us tell the full story of our city,” Rees said in a statement. “As we learn this fuller story, including the role played by blacks, women, the working class, unions, and children, among others, we will be in a better position to understand who we are, how we got here, and who we want. to honor. “
The sculpture by Jen Reid, who helped tear down the 17th-century slave trader and merchant statue Colston in June and was photographed in the fist-raised pose, was secretly installed by artist Marc Quinn’s team at dawn on Wednesday.
Beneath the work was a cardboard sign saying “Black Lives Still Matter,” which the artist titled “A Wave of Power (Jen Reid) 2020.”
Quinn and Reid, who collaborated on the work, said the installation was always temporary.
“When I was standing on the socket, and raised my arm in a Black Power salute, it was totally spontaneous, I didn’t even think about it,” Reid said in a statement about the job. “It was as if an electrical charge of energy was going through me. My immediate thoughts were to the enslaved people who died at Colston’s hands and to empower them. I wanted to empower George Floyd, I wanted to empower Black people like me who have suffered injustice and inequalities. An increase in power for all of them, “he said.
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“It is such a powerful image, of a moment that I felt it should materialize, forever,” Quinn said in a statement. She said she contacted Reid through social media after seeing her photograph of the idea for a sculpture, and she agreed to collaborate.
After George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota, Black Lives Matter protests broke out in cities across the UK. In Bristol, protesters defaced and then tore down the statue of slave trader Colston, who had been in a central square, dragged it into the harbor, and dumped it into the river. It was finally recovered, and conservationists say it will be placed in a museum with the protest graffiti preserved.
“Jen and I are not putting this sculpture on the plinth as a permanent solution to what should be there; it is a spark that we hope will help draw continued attention to this vital and pressing problem. We want to continue to highlight the unacceptable problem of” racism institutionalized and systemic that everyone has a duty to face, “Quinn said.
“This sculpture tries to defend my mother, my daughter, black people like me,” said Reid. “It’s about black kids seeing it up there. It’s something to be proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we really belong here and we’re not going anywhere.”
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