Art / Street Art
James Colomina on why he chose Bristol for his latest installations
The Banksy of the sculpture world arrived in Bristol after a three-day drive from Toulouse in the south of France with one sole mission: to leave a red resin footprint on the anonymous Bristol graffiti artist’s home turf.
For me, the story started six months ago when I was studying in Toulouse for my year abroad and noticed a few favourite sunspots punctuated with red ceramic figures.
I got in contact with James Colomina, the anonymous artist behind these sculptures, and we spoke about my university city, Bristol, home to one of his biggest inspirations: Banksy.
is needed now More than ever
We also spoke about some of the corners close to the heart of many residents, such as Turbo Island. The concept of a fiercely defended patch of tarmac home to a meeting of worlds must have sounded strange in my dodgy French.
Back in Bristol a few days ago, I received a WhatsApp message from James asking if I knew where to find an eight-metre ladder. He had tried to install a sculpture on a roof just behind Turbo Island the night before, but his ladder was only seven metres tall.
In the early hours of Wednesday, a little red figure in a dunce cap appeared perched on the rooftop overlooking Turbo Island and Stokes Croft. It was the first of his sculptures I had encountered on the Pont Neuf, a famous bridge in Toulouse.
It looks familiar to that first sculpture of James’ I had discovered but there is a slight twist. The French version wears a ‘bonnet d’âne’, or a ‘donkey hat’ Rather than one cone shape, it has two cylindrical points like a donkey’s ears. Children wore it in French schools as a form of social shaming just like the dunce cap in Britain, so James adjusted the sculpture for Bristol.
James Colomina’s sculpture overlooking Turbo Island – photo: James Colomina
“The bonnet d’âne sheds light on those shunned by our society, like the homeless for example,” James told me.
James’ decision to place one above Turbo Island was made after hearing that the space was to be put up for auction. The piece, according to the artist, “questions the value we place on these spaces and those who frequent them, while questioning how society can ignore these realities”.
His art is sometimes controversial. Vladimir, his sculpture of Russian president Putin sat on a miniature tank, has travelled from country to country, appearing in children’s playgrounds including one in New York’s Central Park. The crux of this piece is its interaction with the public as children sometimes throw sand at the sculpture or climb on it.
“I received a fair few death threats for that one,” he admits. “I put this sculpture (in playgrounds) to show the courage of children involved in war-torn countries as they’re its first victims.”
His trip to Bristol followed his installations in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, where my personal favourite of his sculptures can be found on Taras Shevchenko Boulevard. It portrays a little girl painting sunflowers, the national emblem of Ukraine, in his signature red on top of the remains of a pedestal.
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“Sunflowers represent the resilience and determination of Ukrainian people to rebuild and blossom despite adversity,” he explains. “This work is a homage to Ukrainian independence.”
The pedestal had previously supported a monument for Mykola Shchors, a Bolshevik military commander, but was dismantled in December. “It’s the same as the statue of Colston in Bristol,” he tells me, which I had told him all about when selling Bristol as his next artistic target when we were in Toulouse.
Beautiful and moving, James’ sculptures can be found hidden in plain sight in urban spaces all over the world and Bristol is now lucky enough to be their latest home at locations including Cabot Circus, Gaol Ferry Bridge and Queen Square.
One last comment from James before packing up and heading back over the channel? “Save Turbo Island!”
James Colomina needed an eight-foot ladder to reach the roof of a building overlooking Turbo Island – photo: Anna Johnson
Main photo: Martin Booth
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