Category: Stav Meishar

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Stav Meishar

Legacies

A graphite pencil sketch on a white background by bristol artist Gail Reid. The scene is the aftermath of Colston's statue being pulled down. Central is the ornate stone and bronze plinth on which the statue stood. On it now stands a young black female demonstrator, with shoulder length hair who is looking out with one fist raised in the air. At the bottom of the plinth placards are displayed, leaning in a pile. One depicts a stenciled raised fist, others read ‘Black Lives Matter’ and ‘Silence is violence’, and another lists 20+ names of young black people who died in the custody of UK police. In the background disappearing out of frame, we can see the overturned statue of colston.

As a circus-theatre artist whose work is based on historical figures, I think celebrating lineage is important.