Black Lives Matter sculpture of Jen Reid that replaced toppled Edward Colston statue in Bristol is removed

The Evening Standard

The statue was removed from the plinth and loaded into a recycling and skip hire lorry on Thursday morning ( PA )

The sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester which replaced the statue of slave trader Edward Colston has been removed.

Pictures from the scene appeared to show workers at the site in Bristol at around 5.20am on Thursday.



Bristol City Council said it was removed at their request and that it would be held at a museum for the artist to collect.

The statue, by artist Marc Quinn, was put up in the early hours of Wednesday.

Edward Colston statue in Bristol replaced with Black Lives Matter activist Jen Reid

Quinn's life-size black resin and steel piece of Jen Reid was inspired after seeing a photo of her standing on the empty plinth following the toppling of the Colston statue.

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The sculpture, entitled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was installed without the knowledge or consent of the local authority in the early hours of Wednesday .

On Wednesday, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees tweeted: "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."

marcquinnart

Verified

Today, Bristol resident Jen Reid and I have unveiled a new temporary, public installation, ‘A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020’, on top of Edward Colston’s empty plinth in Bristol, England. This life-sized sculpture is based on an image I saw on Instagram of local resident Jen Reid standing on the vacant plinth with her fist raised in a Black Power salute, a spontaneous moment following a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020. During the protest, a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston was toppled from this spot. Cast in black resin, this new sculpture ‘A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020’ takes its place - no formal consent has been sought for the installation. Read the full statement - link in bio. #blacklivesmatter #marcquinnart #5thplinth

British sculpture of slave trader replaced by statue of social activist
Activist Jen Reid poses with a raised fist in front of a new statue that appeared in Bristol, Britain, on Wednesday. A sculpture of former British lawmaker and known slave trader Edward Colston previously stood at the location. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA-EFE

July 15 (UPI) -- A statue of a 17th-century lawmaker and slave trader in Britain was secretly replaced Wednesday with one honoring a social activist.

Demonstrators in Bristol toppled a statue of Edward Colston last month amid global outcry that followed the death of George Floyd in the United States. Wednesday, a new sculpture of Black Lives Matter activist Jen Reid stood in its place.

Bristol is located about 100 miles west of downtown London.

The statue of Reid was created by British artist Marco Quinn, who said he was inspired by an image of the activist with a raised fist.

Quinn, who called the image "A Surge of Power," said he hopes his sculpture will be a permanent fixture.

"It is such a powerful image, of a moment I felt had to be materialized forever," he said. "I contacted Jen via social media to discuss the idea of the sculpture and she told me she wanted to collaborate."

It's unclear whether the new statue of Reid will remain in the location since it was placed there without approval from Bristol city councilors.

Colston was a Conservative Party British lawmaker in the 1600s who was known for trading slaves from West Africa. His statue was retrieved from a nearby harbor, but its unknown what will be done with it.