A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 facts for kids

A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 is a black statue made in 2020. It was created by artist Marc Quinn and inspired by Jen Reid. Both Quinn and Reid are named as the artists. The statue shows Jen Reid, a young Black woman who was a protester. She is shown raising her arm in a Black Power salute.

The statue was put up secretly in Bristol, England, on the morning of July 15, 2020. It was placed on an empty stone stand. This stand used to hold a 19th-century statue of Edward Colston. Colston was involved in the Atlantic slave trade, which was the forced movement of African people across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold as slaves. His statue had been pulled down and pushed into the city's harbor by protesters a month earlier. The new statue of Jen Reid was removed by Bristol City Council the very next day.

Why Was the Statue Created?

The Toppling of Edward Colston's Statue

On June 7, 2020, a statue of Edward Colston was pulled down. Colston was a rich merchant and politician from Bristol in the 1600s and 1700s. He was involved in the slave trade. His statue had stood on a 10.5-foot (3.2-meter) stone base for many years. Many people had wanted it removed because of Colston's links to slavery.

Jen Reid's Powerful Moment

After Colston's statue was pulled down, a Black Lives Matter protester named Jen Reid climbed onto the empty base. She is a woman of Jamaican background. She raised her fist in a powerful gesture. Her husband took a photo of this moment and shared it online. Artist Marc Quinn saw the photo.

Jen Reid later said that seeing Colston's statue fall felt like a huge historical event. She explained that when she raised her arm, it was a natural reaction. She thought about the enslaved people who suffered because of people like Colston. She wanted to give power to them and to George Floyd, whose death sparked many protests. She also wanted to give power to all Black people who have faced unfairness.

How Was the Jen Reid Statue Made?

The statue, called A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, was made by artist Marc Quinn and his team. They used black resin and steel. It is a life-size statue of Jen Reid. It shows her making the same raised fist pose she did on the base. She is wearing a casual jacket over a dress or skirt. She also has the black beret and glove she bought for the protest. The whole statue is about 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) tall.

Quinn and Reid worked together on the statue. Quinn said that Jen created the sculpture when she stood on the base and raised her arm. He added that they were "crystallizing" that moment. To make the statue, Quinn used a 3D scan of Reid in her pose. The statue was then 3D printed in parts. These parts were then cast in black resin and steel and put together.

Reid and Quinn decided that if the statue is ever sold, any money made would go to charity. They chose two educational charities, Cargo Classroom and The Black Curriculum.

Where Was the Statue Placed?

The statue was put up secretly by a team of 10 people. It took them only 15 minutes, around 5 AM on July 15, 2020. It was placed on the 10.5-foot (3.2-meter) stone base where the statue of Edward Colston used to stand in The Centre, Bristol. The police said that putting up the statue was not against the law. They said it was a matter for the city council to decide. The statue was attached without drilling or gluing. This was done to avoid damaging the stone base.

The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, later said that Quinn had asked him about putting a statue on the base a few weeks earlier. But the mayor had said no. He believed it was not the right step for the city. He thought it could cause arguments or bad feelings between different groups of people.

Why Did Marc Quinn Create It?

Marc Quinn called the statue a "new temporary, public installation." He said it was "ultimately moveable" and "not a permanent artwork." However, he also said his team had checked the spot and it was not easy to move.

Quinn told The Guardian newspaper that racism is a huge problem that needs to be fixed. He hoped the sculpture would keep people talking about this issue. He wanted it to be like an "energy conductor." He felt that the image of Jen Reid on the base, full of hope, made the idea of big change feel more real.

In a joint statement, Quinn and Reid wrote that they did not put the sculpture on the base as a final solution. They hoped it would be a "spark" to keep attention on the important issue of racism. They wanted to highlight the problem of unfairness built into society, which everyone must face. They felt the sculpture needed to be in public now because it felt like a global turning point. They believed it was time for direct action.

Why Was the Statue Removed?

Mayor Rees said the statue did not have permission to be put up. He had previously stated that the people of Bristol would decide what would happen to the base. Bristol City Council removed the statue on the morning of July 16. They said it would be kept in their museum. Quinn agreed to pay for the cost of removing it. He also said he would offer a smaller model of the statue to the museum.

Later, a company asked Bristol City Council for official permission to keep the statue on the base for two years. No decision was made on this request. The company then made a legal appeal in March 2021.

What Did People Think?

People had different opinions about the statue. The Guardian reported that most people passing by in Bristol liked the statue during its short time on the base. Some people gathered to object to it, while others took photos or took the knee.

The famous author Bernardine Evaristo praised the statue. She said it showed a clear commitment to the Black Lives Matter cause. She also pointed out that there are not many public statues of Black women in the UK.

However, some art critics and other artists had different views. Art critic Alastair Sooke called it a "showy stunt." The sculptor Thomas J. Price said it was a "PR stunt and con." He suggested that a real act of support would have been to help a young, local Black artist create a temporary statue instead. He felt that a moment meant to bring equality to Black people had been taken over.

Charlotte Jansen, writing for Elephant Magazine, noted that Quinn had not shown much interest in racism or Black history before. She felt he did not fully understand systemic racism. She thought he took up space and made himself the focus of the story around the Colston base.

In an article for Art Review, Kadish Morris suggested that calling the work a "collaboration" might be a way for Quinn to avoid being accused of using Jen Reid for his own gain. Morris wrote that quick actions might seem good, but they are not strong enough to fight racism. She believed that sculptures made by white men that skip democratic processes are not the kind of true justice needed in the arts.

Images for kids

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  A crowd observing the statue on 15 July 2020