Edward Colston, a Bristolian, was an English merchant and Member of Parliament, who became the Deputy Governor of the Royal African Company (RAC) in the late 1680s. In his 12-year employment with the company, he oversaw the enslavement of 84,000 Africans, many of whom died in poor conditions onboard ships travelling to the Americas. All this while Colston fattened his wallet.

Almost 180 years after his death, in 1895, a statue of Colston was placed in Bristol’s city centre, with his notorious slave trade past, largely forgotten. Until…

In June 2020, during the rise of the Black Lives Matter protests, the statue was toppled by anti-racist protestors, and unceremoniously dumped into the Avon river. Four people were charged by police for this action and were to face trial.

Banksy decided to help ‘mark the occasion’ of the statue-toppling, by manufacturing T-shirt souvenirs. The statue-less plinth image shirts went on sale for £25 at various outlets in Bristol, with all proceeds from the sales going, ‘to the defendants so they can go for a pint’. 

All four protestors were later cleared of criminal damage and some wore these Banksy’s T-shirts when posing for the newspapers.