NOMAD Creatives Menu
Gr. 12 #BLM Project
Though #BlackLivesMatter started out as a hashtag, its tenet was borne out of how Black people have been treated by police and other branches of authority. As part of our means to participate in Black History Month, our Gr. 12’s are infusing the principles of Protest Art by way of Graffiti as they express what Black Lives Matter means to them. These Graffiti artworks were digitally created through the use of software such as Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, Photopea, and PIXLR.
Andrea A.
My work is about the people who experienced violence leading to the death of young/old people, especifically african american.I put the innocent victims’ names as the background so they could see how many they are and till this day there are more victims that the people don’t know about.
As a teenager, social media has been part of our life. There is this app called tiktok where I spend most of my time, and a lot of videos way before this project was assigned, such as teenagers-older has spread the one of the tapes of George Floyd . After George’s video got leaked and finally seen by people even if it was very crucial, people then came all together to finally speak and proceeded to act. If you don’t know who George Floyd is, he is a man with color who got arrested and handcuffed on the ground as Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as George begged them repeatedly to stop because he could not breath. The police officer still then proceeded to be still in that same position even if George had passed. All that because George allegedly tried to use a counterfeit 20 dollar bill.
That is only one of the stories from people who were treated unfairly especially by a police officer.
But just like the 23 years old Sara said “ We should take this chance to learn more about racism and discrimination. Listen. Read. Be a standing voice to those who need help”
For this art, the man in the middle represents the BLM protesters along with the arms around him, meaning he is not alone in this movement. While the names are being shown and being heard to find justice. My favourite part is the diversity of the fists because I’ve seen the BLM protesters who came all together and showed actions to either social media or the protest itself. They showed that no matter what skin colour you have, it’s just colour because in the end we are all equal-the same and no one should be discriminated against by the colour of their skin.
Kiara D.
This artwork is a memorial piece for Bony Jean-Pierre. Pierre was a 46 year old african man. He was shot in Montreal Quebec by a Montreal police officer named Christian Gilbert on March 31 2016. Pierre was running from police during a raid, and attempted to climb out the second floor window. Gilbert saw Pierre climbing out the window and shot him in the head. Pierre then fell from the window and died of his injuries in a hospital several days later. Over the course of the global pandemic, the BLM movement has grown. People are finally speaking up, proving their equal and showing we are all human. This art piece is a memorial piece for the death of the innocent Bony Jean-Pierre.
The main focal point is his face. Behind him are wings symbolizing that he is now in heaven, a safe place away from all violence and pain. The red glasses symbolize the visual pain Pierre most likely witnessed throughout his lifetime. Fires, bloodshed etc. The BLM symbol over his head shows the power and equality he should have been given, my favourite part of the piece. If given more time, I would have probably added some more colour in the background of the entire piece, like a big splatter of paint. Pierre deserved to have a better, longer life. Everyone does. That’s why I made the piece.
Alexia E.
With my work, I wanted to focus on the demand to be heard. I wanted to reflect off of what I remember seeing and hearing when the protest began to happen. I remember there were a lot of signs and crowd chants about letting our voices be heard. In my final piece I wanted to show how people of colour, specifically black people, are making their voices be heard. The BLM protests are more than black lives versus the police force, however, during the times of the recent protests, people wanted to hold the police, who took innocent lives, accountable. I hope that my work is able to show how there is a hierarchy in the system where police officers are higher up then the people, but that will not stop us. It may pose as a challenge but if we are loud enough, we will be heard and listened to.
What I like most about my piece is how it properly guides you through the composition. By that I mean, as we read from left to right, we begin with the image of the person yelling, and the text that follows grows and directs the eyes to the police officer. If given more time, I would like to improve the depth of the composition. I personally think that it could have been a bit more dynamic and less flat. Nonetheless, I think I was still able to create an effective piece of art.
Marianne P.
My work is about fairness and equality all around the world, the concept behind it is that there are people everywhere, who are fighting for equality. When I first came up with the idea for my graffiti project, I only had the fist coming out of the Earth. However it looked a little plain, so with a bit more searching, I came up with the idea of having a balancing scale behind the fist, balancing a peace sign and a heart, making the project look more complete. Moreover, the part I liked the most about my piece is the fist and the balancing scale, but if I was given more time I would touch up the white spray a bit and touch up the Earth to appear more ‘sprayed’ on.
Abbey S.
TheThis main idea of this graffiti is the importance of equality for Black lives, no matter the age or gender. All people must feel safe in this world. I used a younger boy and an older woman to display this message of freedom for everyone. I began with the fist surrounded by the wings. The fist is the main symbol for BLM. It is very recognizable by people and has a direct connection to the equality for Black lives. The wings symbolize freedom and they are surrounding the fist. This presents the idea of justice, equality and freedom. I then placed the two figures below the fist and wings to put faces to give visuals to the kind of people we are fighting for. What I like most about this is the way I combined the fist and wings together to create one idea of freedom and equality. However I would have improved on the use of colour and maybe would have added other elements to enhance the message.
Anastasia S.
BLM quickly gained attention and became an important movement. Yet, for some people, not a valuable one. BLM allowed not only to uncover the tough realities of how black people are still being treated, but also bring awareness on how we can stop our ignorance and provide a safe space. Meanwhile, some tragic cases like George Floyd’s death have received public attention, there is a wonderful activist, Emmanuel Acho, an author of “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” who is speaking up against racial stereotypes. What truly inspired me and drove me to my idea is Acho’s interview where he quoted some truly hurtful stereotypes he went through and one of them was a quote, that has participated in my work, “You don’t talk or dress like you’re black.” Once your artwork has a clear message, the process is simple, just experiment. Try out different styles, colors, angles and etc. For me, it was important to catch the public’s attention with an aggressive huge quote that has Acho’s full name and a portrait with a simple but clear message to “STOP.” I love the idea to separate each message with different colours, hoping to rise the curiosity of citizenry to look up Acho and educate themselves on such an important issue that is lacking attention. I love my work and I am proud of it, I believe the simplicity and bright colours on it allow the information and my message to stand out.
Diego S.
Melina C.