'Surge of Power'
On 15 July 2020, artist Marc Quinn and his team installed 'A Surge of Power', on the empty Colston statue plinth. It depicted Jen Reid, who had been photographed on the plinth with a raised fist the day the figure of Colston was removed,
Quinn was inspired to make the artwork after seeing the image on Instagram. He said; 'My first, instant thought was how incredible it would be to make a sculpture of her, in that instant. It is such a powerful image, of a moment I felt had to be materialised, forever. I contacted Jen via social media to discuss the idea of the sculpture and she told me she wanted to collaborate.'
'This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for Black people like me. It’s about Black children seeing it up there. It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere.' (Jen Reid, 2020)
The black resin statue was put up secretly. It was removed 24 hours later by Bristol City Council. Mayor Marvin Rees said 'This is not about taking down a statue of Jen, who is a very impressive woman. This is about taking down a statue of a London-based artist who came and put it up without permission.'
The piece was stored at M Shed until the artist's team retrieved it. The intention was to sell it for charities chosen by Jen- Cargo Classroom, a Black history syllabus created for Bristol teenagers, and The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise founded by young people to address the lack of Black British history in the UK curriculum.
In April 2021, graffiti depicting Jen Reid was painted on the side of Hamilton House, Stokes Croft. The artist was Mr Cenz, with words by Lawrence Hoo added by Inkie.
'This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for Black people like me. It’s about Black children seeing it up there. It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere.' (Jen Reid, 2020)
The black resin statue was put up secretly. It was removed 24 hours later by Bristol City Council. Mayor Marvin Rees said 'This is not about taking down a statue of Jen, who is a very impressive woman. This is about taking down a statue of a London-based artist who came and put it up without permission.'
The piece was stored at M Shed until the artist's team retrieved it. The intention was to sell it for charities chosen by Jen- Cargo Classroom, a Black history syllabus created for Bristol teenagers, and The Black Curriculum, a social enterprise founded by young people to address the lack of Black British history in the UK curriculum.
In April 2021, graffiti depicting Jen Reid was painted on the side of Hamilton House, Stokes Croft. The artist was Mr Cenz, with words by Lawrence Hoo added by Inkie.