George Floyd Jr., May 25, 2020
2020
Graphite on Bhutan Mitsumata rice paper.
10.5 x 11 inches
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd Jr. was murdered in Minneapolis by a police officer while he was under arrest. The officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for a reported 8 minutes and 46 seconds. His death sparked numerous protests and demonstrations calling for renewed attention to systemic racism in the United States and the inequitable treatment of people of color by law enforcement. Reflecting on Floyd’s death, I created two drawings while thinking about Floyd and the duration of time he gasped for breath. Here, I make "breath marks" for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, to reveal how many breaths I breathed during that time, how many breaths George Floyd was deprived of.
All images copyright Jill O'Bryan