Statue of slaver Edward Colston unofficially replaced with sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester

A statue of a woman making the black power salute has appeared on the plinth where Bristol slaver Edward Colston once stood.

Artist Marc Quinn secretly created a sculpture of protester Jen Reid, who was at the protest which saw Colston’s statue pulled down and thrown in Bristol Harbour.

A photo of Ms Reid stood on top of the plinth making the black power salute then went viral.

The team installed the new sculpture during the early hours of the morning.

“I raised my hands for George Floyd. I raised my hands for all the people who’ve died at the hands of the police for being black. To show people who think we don’t matter that we do matter,” Jen Reid told Channel 4 News.

“It’s making a stand for my mother, for black women like me, for my daughter and something to feel proud of, for them to have a sense of belonging.”