Soon after Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, participants started toppling statues that pay homage to racist history. One of the more theatrical examples came from Bristol, England, where locals dunked a monument to the former slave trader Edward Colston, a prominent member of the Royal African company, in the city’s harbor. Viral footage of the incident inspired a wave of similar action across the U.S.—more than 50 statues have been torn down this year, though 1,700 still remain standing.

To replace Colston’s monument, the British artist Marc Quinn has installed a life-size resin sculpture based on a photograph of Jen Reid, a Black Lives Matter activist who had climbed atop the plinth as she returned home from a protest. “It’s such a powerful image of a moment I felt had to be materialized forever,” says Quinn. “My first thought was how incredible it would be to make a sculpture of her in that instant.” The statue, titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020, “is an embodiment and amplification of Jen’s ideas and experiences, and of the past, present, and her hope for a better future,” he says.

Though the monument makes a powerful statement, it won’t sit on the plinth forever. Quinn didn’t seek permission from British authorities to place the statue, but hopes to soon find a buyer. If it gets sold, he plans to donate profits to two charities of Reid’s choosing that promote Black history in schools. “This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for Black people like me,” says Reid. “It’s about Black children seeing it up there. It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere.”

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