The intention of this piece was to portray a message, one that people can relate to in-terms of their opinions and perspectives, as well as carrying on with the trend of spreading awareness on the matter and to tell a story of those that go unseen and or unheard. To create a message and sense of emotion through this piece that viewers can come together and become aware of the on going discussion of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The US has been convulsed by nationwide protests over the death of an African - American man in police custody.
George Floyd, 46, died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Footage of the arrested on 25th May shows a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck while he was pinned to the ground.
Mr Chauvin, 44, has since been charged with murder. Transcripts of police body cam footage shows Mr Floyd said more than 20 times he could not breathe as he was restrained by officers. The key events that lead to the death of Mr Floyd happened within 30 minutes. Based on accounts from witnesses, video footage and official statements.
“Daddy changed the work!” - Gianna Floyd.
This incident had a huge impact on people all across the world who came together and fought for his injustice and capturing beauty in coming together as one and united for issues other than politics and money.
Ange Hillz: the Houston speed artist who painted George Floyd during his funeral on Tuesday, 9th June 2020, the portrait was created in 3 minutes.
Hillz expressed how he felt at the moment; “ I felt like that could have been me in that casket, when you see what’s happening in the world and what was going on that day, it’s history, you know what I mean!?”
The idea of this piece was to capture the importance of such a matter, portraying an African-American boy wearing a mask with the words written “I can’t breathe” on it. Done in black and white with a statement colour in the background to capture the attention of the viewer, placing importance in the boy, specifically the mask that he’s wearing which also corresponds with the current pandemic we were facing at the time - covid 19.
With the initial work I created a different piece capturing the same essence and message but extending the concept of producing a masculine and feminine representation, to create emphasis on the movement that didn’t only happen to Mr Floyd but is an on going issue within the contemporary culture of African/African- American people.
