Colston Four member set to make £20k from selling off their personalised Banksy t-shirt

‘This is arguably one of Banksy’s most important pieces’

| UPDATED

An unnamed member of the Colston Four is auctioning their signed Banksy t-shirt to the highest bidder.

East Bristol Auctions project the item will sell for between £15,000 – £20,000 when it goes under the hammer on May 28th 2022.

The Colston Four (Sage Willoughby, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford and Jake Skuse) were presented with the unique t-shirts in a secretive meeting with Banksy during the trial last January.

The Colston Four were put on trial for criminal damage following the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston during the Black Lives Matter protests on June 7th 2020.

The trial, which took place in January 2021, ended in the acquittal of all four protestors by jury. However, there have been calls to refer the acquittal to the Court of Appeal.

Spokesman for the Colston Four, Jay Goodman-Browne said: “The toppling of the Edward Colston statue is now regarded by some as one of the defining events of the last decade. This shirt – one of only four made – encapsulates that event.”

“If Bristol is famous for two things, it’s the toppling of the statue and Banksy, and here we have an item that links the two. This isn’t just a shirt, this is a piece of history.”

Credit: South West News Service

In selected Bristol locations, the original (non-signed) Banksy designed t-shirts were sold for £25 to aid the cost of legal fees for the Colston Four. This resulted in vast queues outside the selected stores which sold out within days.

It has not been stated what the proceeds of the auction will be used for.

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