BLACK LIVES ACTIVIST TAKES OVER COLSTON PLINTH
Black Lives Matter activist Jen Reid poses next to a statue of her by artist Marc Quinn. It was put on the plinth secretly at 5am today after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol harbour
A STATUE of a Black Lives Matter activist was erected today on the plinth left empty when protesters tore down a bronze of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.
The secret operation to install A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) was carried out in the early hours. The work by Marc Quinn was inspired by an Instagram photo of Mrs Reid standing on the vacant plinth shortly after Colston was toppled into the city harbour last month.
Quinn, who created Alison Lapper Pregnant, a marble of the disabled artist that was installed on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth in 2005, oversaw the operation this morning.
His new black resin and steel statue was moved from his studio in two lorries before 5 am, with 10 of his team working for 30 minutes to lift it into place using a hydraulic crane truck.
Mrs Reid, a stylist, then posed for photographs, replicating the stance with her fist raised in the air.
She said the work gave her “goosepimples”, adding: “It’s just incredible. This is going to continue the conversation.
I can’t see it coming down in a hurry.” The stunt has taken weeks of meticulous planning, Mrs Reid said, adding: “They were so efficient.”
Bristol city council was not notified and did not approve the plans. Mayor Marvin Rees has previously said any decision on how the plinth should be used would be decided democratically.
The Colston statue was retrieved from the harbour two days after the protest and will be displayed in a museum. The toppling sparked a national conversation about which historical figures should be remembered with statues.
Quinn said: “Jen created the sculpture when she stood on the plinth and raised her arm in the air. Now we’re crystallising it.”
He said his team had carried out surveys and health and safety checks, and installed the sculpture in a way that made it “extremely difficult to move”. He added: “It looks like it’s always been here.”