George Floyd Two Years On — 'I Can't Breathe!' Abstract Art Series

I Can't Breathe! (2020) ⓒ Nicole Moore

Abstract Series
I Can't Breathe!
2020
Transparent Watercolours
10 x 8 inches

Today I'm sharing what compelled me to make I Can't Breathe!, which actually started off as a series of abstract art pieces that I completed in an A4 size sketchbook. This piece was made with Pelikan Transparent Watercolour Paints in June 2020.

The Painting:

The painting, I Can't Breathe! came first, the words came second arriving on 2 June 2020.  I wrote them on my phone that evening. 

I used Canva graphic design software to add the words, so as to tie the painting together and produce it as a piece of mixed-media abstract art.

The Motivation:

The motivation for the I Can't Breathe! painting, evolved as the world watched the visceral horror of George Floyd's slow public execution under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in the United States. 

The unforgettable sight cut through the global consciousness in a way not seen since the police attack and killing of Rodney King in 1991.

In June 2020, I posted a YouTube video:

In the video, I stated: 

I stand in solidarity with the African American community, the African Caribbean community, the Black British community and with the Black community throughout the world. 

I'm aligned to the spirit and soul of Black Lives Matter everywhere. I think the world has woken up at last and is listening.

On 2 June 2020, I also posted a photo of the I Can't Breathe! painting on my Instagram account stating:

Justice will only be achieved when the police culture in the US (and UK) is dismantled and those racist cops are expelled once and for all from brutalising Black people when they should be protecting them!

Violent Policing:

Two years on, where are we in the UK particularly with regards to police brutality? There's no doubt that George Floyd's murder sparked an unprecedented global reaction and the Black Lives Matter movement generated peaceful protests unheard and unseen before. However, it is widely known in general that the use of force especially but not exclusively by the Metropolitan Police has increased over the last two years, with Black people four times more likely to have force used against them than white people.

In my Birkbeck College — Culture, Community, Identity assignment completed in April 2022, I discussed the debates relating to police violence and stated that the issue of police accountability is at the heart of police violence and how outrageous it is that not one police officer in the UK has ever been convicted for a death in custody. 

BBC London News — Call to Action:

When the former Commissioner Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February 2022, I was relieved, because, for many years, she had been in denial that institutional racism existed in the Metropolitan Police Force. In February 2022, I felt compelled to respond to a call to action from BBC London News for 'Thoughts on policing priorities for London and the next Commissioner.' In response to the call to action, I wrote a lengthy email stating how I had lost faith and confidence in the leadership of Cressida Dick a long time ago not just because of her denial that the Metropolitan Police were institutionally racist, but because of her big errors of judgement which under her watch led to a litany of failures — too many to mention here. 

Racist Ideology:

I emphasised in my email to BBC London News how policing in the UK is steeped in racist (and sexist) ideology and until those ideologies are independently uprooted, deconstructed, evaluated and reviewed with appropriate cutting edge research, together with significant action, then real change is not going to happen. And by change, I mean change that's in line with our current twenty-first century and the sophisticated demands of that twenty-first century, especially institutional racism, as it is one of the most major concerns for Black people living in the UK, particularly for young boys/men.

The roots of policing policies and practices have to be pulled up and new thoughts and ideas that are revolutionarily inclusive and diverse have to be replanted. It's not just about placing a big dressing on an open wound or police culture because that open wound has been festering for many years. It's also about a complete change of police recruitment training and promotion policies that root out any racist, sexist, misogynistic, and homophobic attitudes and behaviours.

New Commissioner:

When it comes to a new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, it's not about gender, i.e. a new Commissioner being a woman or man. It's about the right person to lead the Metropolitan Police; someone that has the vision to see a police force with all its systemic problems and failures, someone who has the ability and vision to make some very revolutionary decisions and critical changes within the force — changes which in reality stop new and unsuitable police recruits slipping through the net because of inadequate recruitment screening. 

It is absolutely imperative that the new Commissioner has the courage to shake up the current Metropolitan Police Force so that police officers are held accountable for their actions, and in serious cases of gross misconduct, are sacked rather than given a slap on the wrist and later on given the privilege of promotion. In other words, a complete overhaul and restructuring of the Metropolitan Police is crucial and urgent.

Comments welcome!

Thanks for reading.