British artist Marc Quinn has erected a statue depicting a woman with her fist raised in a Black Power salute in the place where Colston once stood. He based the artwork on a photograph of Jen Reid, a Bristol resident who had climbed atop the empty plinth as she returned home from the demonstration in June.
After contacting Reid, the artist produced a life-sized sculpture of the moment using black resin. In a press statement released Wednesday he said that the sculpture “is an embodiment and amplification of Jen’s ideas and experiences, and of the past, present and her hope for a better future.”
“My friend … showed me a picture on Instagram of Jen standing on the plinth in Bristol with her fist in a Black Power salute,” he said. “My first, instant thought was how incredible it would be to make a sculpture of her, in that instant.
