February, Devan Shimoyama

“I didn’t want to make paintings illustrating any of the related violence, as images of Black men in pain were
so triggering and already heavily present in the news
and media.”—Devan Shimoyama

This work memorializes Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was murdered on February 26, 2012, for wearing a hoodie while Black. Martin’s killer was acquitted, as were the men who killed Emmett Till. Mamie Till-Mobley’s controversial decision to publicize the violence that her son experienced was a radical act of resistance against a system of erasure. Till and Martin have become symbols of social justice movements and martyrs for different generations.