BLM protester takes place of slave trader
A SCULPTURE of a Black Lives Matter supporter now looks out from the plinth where the statue of a slave trader once stood.
Artist Marc Quinn created the life-size black resin and steel piece of Jen Reid after seeing a photograph of her standing in place of the toppled figure of Edward Colston in Bristol.
The sculpture, entitled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was installed on Wednesday by Quinn’s team without the knowledge or consent of Bristol City Council.
Mayor Marvin Rees tweeted: “Anything put on the plinth in place will have to be removed.
The people of Bristol will decide its future.”
After the sculpture was installed, Jen stood in front of it with her fist in the air.
She recalled climbing on to the plinth after the Colston statue was pulled down last month and spontaneously raising her arm in a Black Power salute.
The stylist said: “It was like an electrical charge of power was running through me.
“My immediate thoughts were for the enslaved people who died at the hands of Colston and to give them power. I wanted to give George Floyd power, I wanted to give power to black people like me who have suffered injustices and inequality. A surge of power out to them all.”
On June 7 protesters on a BLM protest used ropes to pull down the Colston statue. It was thrown in the harbour at Pero’s Bridge – named after enslaved Pero Jones who lived in the city.
Artist Marc contacted Jen after seeing a picture of her on the plinth. He said: “It’s such a powerful image, of a moment I felt had to be materialised forever.”
Black Power salute...Jen in front of her sculpture. Right, the image that inspired it. Below, protesters ready to roll Edward Colston’s statue into the water last month