Description:

Black lives matter, 2020

Written in 2020:

In times when I am left speechless, I find my voice through art. For about 3 months now I haven’t had the motivation to create any art, every day I would remind myself to do a sketch or a watercolour piece but I found myself mentally and physically restricted. This whole movement has been the push I needed, as I’ve been able to apply my creativity for something I am truly passionate about – Social Justice. If what you have seen over the past few days has shocked you, it shouldn’t. Acts of blatant racism and police brutality against black people (and other ethnic minorities) is not new. Like Will Smith said ‘racism isn’t getting worse, it’s getting filmed’ and now non-black people have a duty to stand up and use their power to speak out against forms of institutionalised racism. I hope that those who have posted for the #blacklivesmatter movement continue to fight even when the media coverage dissipates because this isn’t a trend, it’s real life and it’s happening daily to millions going unreported. I have created this piece of art inspired by recent events. The pieces of literature seen covering parts of the face are inserts from powerful poems that are inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. The line ‘We no longer wear those chains just to be painted gold’ from the poem ‘Dear Emmett Till’ holds heavy connotations. The reference to chains is symbolic of those worn by black slaves, a symbol of racism, sadly concealed today with a gold veneer inferring that everything is ‘perfect’. In a similar vein, the dripping gold partly conceals a background of blood-red; a reference to the fact that the killing of innocent black people is covered up and ignored.

The piece was auctioned for £390 and all proceeds were donated to the Black Lives Matter charity. 100% of profit from prints purchased will be donated to SARI (Stand against racism and inequality)

Size:

unavailable

Medium(s):

Mixed media – Acrylic paint, texture gel, ink, paper

Price:

Original – SOLD (£390)

Prints – A4 £10 A3 £15