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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Press Association & Jillian MacMath

This powerful statue of a Black Lives Matter protester has appeared overnight where Edward Colston statue used to stand in Bristol

A sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester has been erected on the plinth where the statue of slave trader Edward Colston used to stand in Bristol city centre.

Artist Marc Quinn created the black and resin steel piece of protester Jen Reid, who was photographed standing on the empty plinth after the Colston statue was toppled during the march.

The sculpture, entitled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was erected shortly before 5am on Wednesday by Quinn's team without the prior knowledge of Bristol City Council.

Mayor Marvin Rees previously said any decision on how the plinth should be used would be decided democratically through consultation.

Black Lives Matter protestor Jen Reid poses for a photograph in front of a sculpture of herself, by local artist Marc Quinn, on the plinth where the Edward Colston statue used to stand (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

After the sculpture was installed, Mrs Reid stood in front of it with her fist in the air.

"It's just incredible," she told the Guardian.

"This is going to continue the conversation. I can't see it coming down in a hurry."

On June 7, protesters used ropes to pull the Colston statue, which was erected in 1895, from its plinth in Bristol city centre.

It was dragged to the harbourside, where it was thrown into the water at Pero's Bridge - named in honour of enslaved man Pero Jones who lived and died in the city.

A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol Harbour during Black Lives Matter protests (Getty Images)

Bristol City Council retrieved the statue, which will be displayed in a museum along with placards from the Black Lives Matter protest, from the water on June 11.

"Jen created the sculpture when she stood on the plinth and raised her arm in the air. Now we're crystallising it," the artist told the Guardian.

“The only thing that could have stopped it would have been some kind of official intervention, but it didn’t happen. It looks like it’s always been here.

He said his team had carried out surveys, as well as health and safety checks and installed the sculpture in a way that made it "extremely difficult to move".

“But it is ultimately moveable. This is not a permanent artwork,” he added.

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