'Everyone Happy': Banksy Offers Creative Solution to Colston Statue Toppling

Internationally renowned graffiti artist Banksy has made a comic suggestion of what should replace the toppled statue of British slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, his home city, with a new sketch.

“What should we do with the empty plinth in the middle of Bristol? Here’s an idea that caters for both those who miss the Colston statue and those who don’t. 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,” the accompanying caption reads.

The statue was felled during an anti-racism demonstration in Bristol 7th June, and then rolled into the city’s harbour.

In a post the previous day, Banksy showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, posting a painting on Instagram of a vigil candle burning an American flag.

“At first I thought I should just shut up and listen to black people about this issue. But why would I do that? It’s not their problem, it’s mine. People of colour are being failed by the system. The white system. Like a broken pipe flooding the apartment of the people living downstairs. The faulty system is making their life a misery, but it’s not their job to fix it. They can’t – no-one will let them in the apartment upstairs. This is a white problem. And if white people don’t fix it, someone will have to come upstairs and kick the door in,” he wrote.

The Black Lives Matter movement has been catapulted again to international prominence has escalated over the past two weeks following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died after a white police officer held him down by pressing his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis 25th May. His death has sparked often incendiary protests around the world.