‘A Surge of Power’: una nueva era para las esculturas históricas

Fue entonces, en medio de estas protestas que la estatua del comerciante inglés fue derribada y lanzada a las aguas del puerto de esta ciudad al sureste de Inglaterra.

El artista se basó en una imagen que vio en la red social Instagram, donde la residente de Bristol, Jen Reid, ocupó durante una marcha el 7 de junio pasado, el lugar vacante en este zócalo y adoptó la posición del puño en alto, un signo reconocible del Black Power.

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

FINALLY TORN DOWN The statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into the Bristol harbour on June 7 as part of anti-racism protests. Who was he? And why did this happen? Read on for a story that encapsulates our ongoing relationship with the ‘great’ white men of history. - - Bristol is peppered with the name Colston. There are pubs named after him, private schools that celebrate him, and of course, a controversial statue in the town centre. For years there have been debates about this monument, and I was there to witness protests in 2015 following the #rhodesmustfall campaign to remove a similar statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes in Oxford. - - Edward Colston was a slave trader, prominent during the 17th century and responsible for the transportation of around 80,000 African men, women and children to the Americas. When he died, he donated his wealth to the city, and his name has been engraved on its streets ever since. - - His statue shows a pensive figure (slide 3), and many have made the argument that it pictures a man wrestling with his past sins. But statues are meant to elevate figures, and to show the esteem we have for them. No amount of ambiguity in Colston’s pose would have justified him being there, front-and-centre, surveying the harbourside from up above. - - Many in Bristol have felt this way for years, taking any opportunity to deface and ridicule the monument (slide 4). In fact, when protestors began pulling the statue down, the authorities watched and let it happen. Even Bristol mayor Marvin Rees said he “felt no sense of loss,” a stark contrast to prime minister Boris Johnson who described it as “a criminal act.” - - In any case, it is finally done. And there are plans in place to dredge up the bronze figure from the water, and place it in a museum so that it can always act as a reminder of slavery in Bristol, and of what happened on June 7, 2020. The artist Banksy had another idea though - to re-erect the statue and commission four extra statues in the process of pulling it down (slide 5).

Una publicación compartida de Unconventional History (@unconventional_history) el 9 Jun, 2020 a las 11:25 PDT

El artista de 56 años de edad explicó que “El ámbito público se siente tan vital en este momento, como un espacio para activar ideas y crear cambios. Se siente esencial en particular para que el arte público desempeñe su papel”.

El título de la obra, explicó el artista en su cuenta de Instagram, proviene de la “poderosa descripción” de Jen en su experiencia de estar parada en el zócalo. “Era como si una carga eléctrica de energía me atravesara. Mis pensamientos inmediatos fueron para las personas esclavizadas que murieron a manos de Colston y para darles poder. Quería darle poder a George Floyd, quería darle poder a las personas negras como yo que han sufrido injusticias y desigualdades. Una oleada de poder para todos ellos ".

La pieza, según se explica en el sitio web del artista, fue realizada en resina negra y no se han buscado permisos o consentimientos formales de las autoridades de la localidad británica para su instalación. La obra sorprendió a los habitantes la mañana de este miércoles 15 de julio.

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

I’d first like to thank Jen for collaborating with me on A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 at every point in the process of making this new temporary public artwork. The sculpture’s title comes from Jen’s powerful description of her experience of standing on the plinth: “It was like an electrical charge of power was running through me. My immediate thoughts were for the enslaved people who died at the hands of Colston and to give them power. I wanted to give George Floyd power, I wanted to give power to Black people like me who have suffered injustices and inequality. A surge of power out to them all.” I would also like to thank @mtec0 for the amazing job that they did with their swift and safe installation, in the early hours of this morning. #marcquinnart

Una publicación compartida de marcquinnart (@marcquinnart) el 15 Jul, 2020 a las 5:26 PDT

Si bien el propio artista ha señalado que se trata de una muestra temporal, no se ha definido el futuro de la pieza.

Jen Reid, explicó en un comunicado que “en mi camino a casa después de las protestas del 7 de junio, sentí un impulso abrumador de subir al zócalo, simplemente completamente impulsado a hacerlo por los eventos que habían tenido lugar justo antes. Ver la estatua de Edward Colston arrojado al río se sintió como un momento verdaderamente histórico; enorme”.