RIP Son

Abstract

cbabi bayoc, RIP Son, 2014. Acrylic on panel, 4×4 feet. cbabi finished RIP Son on November 24, 2014, the night it was announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict Officer Wilson. cbabi printed and gave away 1,000 posters on the first anniversary of Michael Brown's death. At the bottom of each poster, this is printed: “We must continue to fight for a world where no parent need bury their son (or daughter) because of an untimely death due to unjustified lethal force by police officers.” (cbabi bayoc) cbabi bayoc is a visual artist and illustrator residing in St. Louis. His subjects include family, children, music, and a bunch of other cool stuff designed with line, bold color, and phunk! His 365 Days with Dad series has received widespread acclaim. CBABI stands for Creative Black Artist Battling Ignorance. BAYOC stands for Blessed African Youth of Creativity. “I never really used my art to react to any one thing that everyone was engaged in. But once I made the connection to Mike Brown's family's loss, I found a way to illustrate what I was seeing. I saw a boy being judged merely by his size and outlandish commentary on his character. I noticed people's outrage over the burning of the US flag without understanding the frustration that caused people to not give a damn about patriotism in a community that doesn't value them.” “I feel even more obligated now to take my work to the streets and create murals around the city that give a smile, sense of pride, and change the narrative about what blackness looks like, often from the angle of black fatherhood.” cbabi bayoc, RIP Son, 2014. Acrylic on panel, 4×4 feet. cbabi finished RIP Son on November 24, 2014, the night it was announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict Officer Wilson. cbabi printed and gave away 1,000 posters on the first anniversary of Michael Brown's death. At the bottom of each poster, this is printed: “We must continue to fight for a world where no parent need bury their son (or daughter) because of an untimely death due to unjustified lethal force by police officers.”