UK: Banksy creates artwork to support the statue of Edward Colston torn down in Bristol

As countries continue to witness the flaring unrest and demonstrations against the social and racial injustice, acclaimed ‘anonymous’ street artist Banksy shared an artwork related to the statue of slave trader Edward Colston torn down in his birth town Bristol. On Instagram, Banksy displayed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement by sharing a creative expression of the statue roped and dragged, suggesting that the empty plinth must be replaced with art.  

“What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol?” Banksy questioned alongside his artistic piece that amassed over 800k likes. “Here’s an idea that caters for both those who miss the Colston statue and those who don’t,” he added. The elusive street artist then went on to explain, “We drag him out the water, put him back on the plinth, tie cable round his neck and commission some life-size bronze statues of protestors in the act of pulling him down. Everyone happy. A famous day commemorated.” 

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UK PM tweets "subverted by thuggery"

Prior to the artwork, anti-racism protesters on June 6 demonstrating “equality for all’ placards and calling against police brutality and use of excessive force against people of colour pulled down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston. Further, they threw the statue into the harbour during the second day of the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK. While UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the protests had been "subverted by thuggery", the city's mayor called it "an affront" and that he felt no "sense of loss" after the controversial bronze statue was vandalised.  

Banksy’s newly-designed sculpture posted to his Instagram account clearly depicted his support and strong opinion that the removal of the slave statue wasn’t a criminal act, but liberation. As thousands of demonstrators gathered in largely peaceful protests in cities across the UK at the weekend, including in Manchester, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh, as early as last week Banksy lent support to the movement with a piece of art and a stark message, "People of Colour are being failed by the system."  

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