Art / Edward Colston
Statue plinth installation invites visitors to deface it
As remnants of Edward Colston are gradually fading from Bristol’s schools, public buildings and spaces, an installation coming soon to Bristol is going one step further.
The Touring Plinth invites the public to stand, photograph and even deface an empty temporary base as a way to prompt meaningful discussion around statues, and their links with slavery, that goes beyond deciding where to put them.
On display at Bristol Beacon on May 3, behind the installation is a former UWE Bristol student who was inspired by what she called the “disconnection between statues in public spaces and the people who pass by them”.
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“Being in Bristol, I’d always found Colston fascinating, especially with the changing name of the Colston Hall – but I didn’t even know who this guy was,” explained the Touring Plinth’s creator Natalie Gillard.
The whole world stopped when he was brought down which I must have walked by so many times – but you’re just blind to them.
“My project came about from seeing Colston towering over Bristol on his plinth, to seeing him pulled down and covered in graffiti – you automatically have a different kind of relationship to him.
“It’s that balance between how you feel when you’re stood up there to how you feel when you’re underneath – and it’s using that dichotomy to understand the role of statues.”
Cities across the world have dealt with the controversial histories of statues in a manner of ways, from dumping them in all in Memento Park in Budapest to spray painting them, beheading them or removing them in Bristol, Cape Town, Boston and beyond.
Gillard said that the metal sculptures have far more value than one of aesthetics, saying “statues dictate who is invited to that space and who is not”.
She explained: “We’ve all been thrown into thinking about statues, yet we’re fumbling our way through trying to find the information. We want to understand how we should move forward but it’s a conversation that goes beyond where they should be displayed.
“I want the installation to prompt discussion around statues that goes further than taking them down or leaving them up – which is where we are stuck at, especially with Colston.”
The Touring Plinth is a project created by Natalie Gillard as part of her MA in Narrative Environments at Central St Martin’s – photo: Betty Woolerton
The Touring Plinth is adorned with questions for those viewing it, asking people how they feel stood on top compared with looking at it upwards.
About their purpose, Gillard said: “I want them to feel the power that statues hold within public spaces, whether that is what we want moving forward.”
The installation comes as debate swirls around what should occupy the now world-famous empty plinth on Colston Avenue.
According to the results of a recent commission, Bristolians want the plinth to become a space for temporary artworks and be adorned with a new plaque. The We are Bristol History Commission’s report also suggested that Colston’s bronze and graffiti-covered statue should remain on display in a museum.
To donate to the installation, visit www.gofundme.com/f/Future-of-statues-project
The Touring Plinth will be on display at Bristol Beacon on May 3 – photo: Betty Woolerton
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
Read more: Colston statue should remain on display at museum, commission finds
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