On February 26^th there was a young man walking home on this rainy night. He caught the attention of an older man. The older man, wanted to protect his family and his neighbor hood. The young man was followed. There was a confrontation. A fight broke out. A single shot was fired. The older man was able to walk away. The young man was not so lucky.

 

At the time, one of my favorite pieces, The Young Angel, was the most powerful thing that I had created. Thinking over and over about the truth behind that grave night. Thinking over and over about that controversial verdict. Thinking about the actions of the people here in Florida…in the country…in the world.

 

My purpose of creating this peace was not for the chance of recognition. It was not to raise controversy. It was my way of showing that I care about what the people involved are going through.

 

I believe that during that whole ordeal, the focus was taken off of the fact that a child was shot and instead shifted to the character of the man and the young man. As a country we became so divided that we talked down to others who didn’t agree with us on social media. We threatened a group of people because of the result of the trial. We made racial remarks and comments that separated us from each other and disrespected one another.

 

My goal with this peace was to focus on the child. The child who is unable to live his life. The child who was screamed for his life. The child whose family is missing him everyday. Whether the man was justified in his actions or not, whether the young man was a bad kid or not, he was a kid nonetheless.

 

What I love about this design is the feel it gives me when I see it. It gives me a feeling of euphoria, a feeling that everything is fine. The heavenly scenery takes me to another place mentally and I seem to either be torn in side with pain and sadness or uplifted that this child is watching over his family.

 

His face is on either side of a beautiful angel who meets the young man at the gate, in a way that seems to say, “Stay strong, this is where you belong.” I created this image not to pick sides, not for recognition, but to give my support and show, to both families, that they have my sympathy. Live to inspire…engineer your dreams