Jen Reid

Last updated

Jen Reid (born 2 November 1970) is a British Black Lives Matter activist from Bristol. After the statue of Edward Colston was pushed into Bristol Harbour, Reid stood on the empty plinth and made a Black Power salute. This pose was then recreated in the sculpture A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 .

Contents

7 June 2020

On 7 June 2020, at a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol following the murder of George Floyd, a statue of Edward Colston was toppled and pushed into the nearby Bristol Harbour. [1] Seventeenth-century merchant Edward Colston had become a figure of controversy in Bristol due to his involvement in the slave trade. [2] [3] Reid stood upon the now empty plinth and raised her fist in a Black Power salute. Her husband took a photograph and posted it on Instagram, and it was quickly transmitted worldwide. [4] [5] She later told ITV News "It was a spontaneous action". [4]

Frances Lincoln Publishers announced in 2021 that they would be releasing a picture book made by Reid and US author Angela Joy which is based upon the June 2020 events. [6] A BBC Radio 4 series called Descendants profiled Reid in its first episode in May 2021. [7] A mural featuring a portrait of Reid was painted by London artist Mr Cenz in Stokes Croft. [8]

A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020

Having seen the photograph of Jen Reid on social media, artist Marc Quinn contacted her and they agreed to make a sculpture of her recreating the raised fist pose to put upon the still empty plinth. [9] Following a 3D scan of Reid made at Quinn's London studio A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 was created in black resin and placed upon the plinth on the morning of 15 July 2020. [9] [10] Reid told BBC News "This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for black people like me". [5] The statue was removed the following day by Bristol City Council.

Personal and professional life

Reid was born on 2 November 1970. [3] She claims that one of her grandmothers was an enslaved African. [7]

Reid launched a fashion brand called Big Stush in 2022. [11] [12] Reid is one of the authors of A Hero Like Me, an illustrated children's book inspired by the events of 7 June 2020 which was published in 2023. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Quinn</span> British painter and sculptor

Marc Quinn is a British contemporary visual artist whose work includes sculpture, installation, and painting. Quinn explores "what it is to be human in the world today" through subjects including the body, genetics, identity, environment, and the media. His work has used materials that vary widely, from blood, bread and flowers, to marble and stainless steel. Quinn has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Sir John Soane's Museum, the Tate Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Fondation Beyeler, Fondazione Prada, and South London Gallery. The artist was a notable member of the Young British Artists movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society of Merchant Venturers</span> Charitable organisation in Bristol, UK

The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Colston</span> English merchant, politician, philanthropist and slave trader (1636–1721)

Edward Colston was an English merchant, slave trader, philanthropist, and Tory Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pero's Bridge</span> Bridge in Bristol, England

Pero's Bridge is a pedestrian bascule bridge that spans St Augustine's Reach in Bristol Harbour, Bristol, England. It links Queen Square and Millennium Square.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cassidy (artist)</span> Irish artist and sculptor

John Cassidy was an Irish sculptor and painter who worked in Manchester, England, and created many public sculptures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Nelson Mandela, Parliament Square</span> Sculpture in London, by Ian Walters

Nelson Mandela is a bronze sculpture in Parliament Square, London, of former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Originally proposed to Mandela by Donald Woods in 2001, a fund was set up and led by Woods's wife and Lord Richard Attenborough after the death of Woods. The then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone obtained permission from Westminster City Council to locate the statue on the north terrace of Trafalgar Square, but after an appeal it was located in Parliament Square instead where it was unveiled on 29 August 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvin Rees</span> Mayor of Bristol

Marvin Rees is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Bristol since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial to Queen Victoria, Leeds</span> Public sculpture by George Frampton

A Memorial to Queen Victoria stands in Woodhouse Moor, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Robert Clayton</span> Sculpture by Grinling Gibbons

The statue of Robert Clayton stands at the entrance to the North Wing of St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London. The sculptor was Grinling Gibbons, and the statue was executed around 1700–1714. Sir Robert was a banker, politician and Lord Mayor of London. As President of St Thomas', he was responsible for the complete rebuilding of the hospital, and associated church in the late 17th century. The statue was designated a Grade I listed structure in 1979.

The year 2020 in art involved various significant events.

Hassan Akkad is a British writer, filmmaker and human rights activist originally from Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom</span> 2020 anti-racism protests in the UK

Protests were held across the United Kingdom following the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, by police officers while under arrest in the United States on 25 May 2020. Immediately following his murder, protests and riots occurred in dozens of cities across the United States. Protests were staged internationally for the first time on 28 May, with a solidarity demonstration outside the United States Embassy in London. They took place during the UK COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Edward Colston</span> Statue in Bristol, England, toppled 2020

The statue of Edward Colston is a bronze statue of Bristol-born merchant and trans-Atlantic slave trader, Edward Colston (1636–1721). It was created in 1895 by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy and was formerly erected on a plinth of Portland stone in a public space known as "The Centre" in Bristol, until it was toppled by anti-racism protestors in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Actions against memorials in Great Britain during the George Floyd protests</span> Protest-related actions

A number of statues and memorials have been the subject of protests and petitions during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom in 2020.

<i>A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020</i> Statue in Bristol, UK

A Surge of Power 2020 is a 2020 black resin sculpture, sculpted by Marc Quinn and modelled on Jen Reid; both Quinn and Reid are credited as artists. It depicts Reid, a black female protester, raising her arm in a Black Power salute. It was erected surreptitiously in the city centre of Bristol, England, in the early morning of 15 July 2020. It was placed on the empty plinth from which a 19th-century statue of Edward Colston, who had been involved in the Atlantic slave trade, had been toppled, defaced and pushed into the city's harbour by George Floyd protesters the previous month. The statue was removed by Bristol City Council the day after it was installed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Black Curriculum</span> British community interest company

The Black Curriculum is a British community interest company, founded in 2019, whose mission is "to address the lack of Black British history in the UK curriculum".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter art</span> Related artworks

Many artworks related to the Black Lives Matter movement have been created. These works are either seen as a direct tribute to those who have died or more broadly to the movement. Often the pieces are created in the streets as to be more publicly visible. As such several attempts have been made at preserving the art created in protest on the basis of their artistic merit and cultural significance. Increasingly, the erasure of the artwork has been a problem for preservationists. As such, the artworks below represent a fraction of the works created.

R v Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse and Sage Willoughby, known as the Colston four, was a British court case surrounding the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, involving four defendants accused of criminal damage in relation to the removal and dumping in the canal of the controversial statue in Bristol in 2020 during a protest.

Ros Martin is a British playwright, poet, performance artist, curator and activist, based in Bristol. She is a founder member of the Bristol Black Women's Writers Group (2002–2005) and "Our Stories Make Waves" (OSMW) and Speakeasy South West, the latter two both associations of African diaspora artists in creativity. She was a member of the Bristol Black Writers Group.

References

  1. ↑ Block, India (16 July 2020). "Marc Quinn replaces statue of slaver Edward Colston with Black Lives Matter protester". Dezeen. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Colston Hall music venue renamed Bristol Beacon". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 Mukena, Rema (10 November 2020). "'No regrets' – the Black woman whose statue replaced Colston's". Bristol Live. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 "'My life has changed' – Jen Reid a year on from Colston toppling". ITV News. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Jen Reid: Black Lives Matter statue to go from Colston plinth". BBC News. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. ↑ Bayley, Sian (7 June 2021). "Frances Lincoln signs picture book from Colston statue activist Reid". The Bookseller. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Bristol Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid stars in Radio 4 series". BBC News. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Jen Reid: Mural of Black Lives Matter Bristol protester". BBC News. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  9. 1 2 Emelife, Aindrea (15 July 2020). "'Hope flows through her': artist Marc Quinn on replacing Colston with a Black Lives Matter statue". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  10. ↑ "Jen Reid: 'I felt a surge of power. Colston is gone. Now there's a new girl in town'". the Guardian. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  11. ↑ Streeting, Louisa (24 November 2022). "Jen Reid on Colston two years on and her new fashion brand". BristolLive. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "BIG STUSH LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  13. ↑ Reid, Jen; Joy, Angela (6 June 2023). A Hero Like Me. Frances Lincoln Children's Books. ISBN   978-0-7112-7041-1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.