It is a symbol that chases away another. The statue of a slave merchant, unbolted in early June in Bristol, was replaced on Wednesday July 15 by that of a young black woman who had participated in the demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter movement (” black lives matter “), at the initiative of an artist.
Titled “A rise in power” ((“A Surge of Power”), the sculpture by Marc Quinn was installed on the base where the statue of Edward Colston was located by the artist’s teams, without the Bristol City Hall being aware of it.
The large black steel piece represents Jen Reid, a protester who was photographed with her fist raised on the empty plinth of the old statue of Edward Colston, a late 17th century slave trader.e century.
This sculpture, which had been controversial for years, had been unbolted and then thrown into the river in early June, during demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter movement following the death in late May of George Floyd, a black American killed by a police officer.
These demonstrations were accompanied by a series of degradations of statues of personalities, disputed because of their involvement in the slave trade or racist statements. The fate of the statue, recovered since, had not been fixed.
A “damn cheeky” action
“The statue that was installed today is the result of the work of a London artist, who did not ask for or obtain authorization”, City Mayor Marvin Rees said in a statement that he promised a large democratic consultation on the subject. “The future of the base of the statue and what must be installed there must be decided by the people of Bristol”, he stressed.
Present during the installation of the statue which represents it, Mme Reid tried the action ” simply incredible “ and “Damn cheeky”. This will allow “Continue the conversation” on the slavery past of the United Kingdom, she told the daily The Guardian. “Jen[[Reid] had already created the statue when she stood on the pedestal and raised her arm in the air. We crystallized it ”, said Marc Quinn.
Edward Colston got rich in the slave trade. He would have sold 100,000 slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas between 1672 and 1689, before using his fortune to finance the development of Bristol, which has long earned him a reputation as a philanthropist.
