“We are the defenders of the dead. When we do the work of honouring the dead, we do the work of liberating the living, because we are fighting the injustices that led to those deaths in the first place.” – Janaya the Future, 2020
The Black Lives Matter Memorial Project is a collaboration between Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware (Toronto), Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers with Orchestra Noir (Atlanta), and Toni Latour (Vancouver), with writing by Krystal Paraboo (Vancouver).
The project is made up of 3 components.
The first component includes 10 portrait drawings produced by Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware of Black people killed by police in both Canada and the US. These portraits are paired with text panels that tell of the person’s life, and the events surrounding their death/murder. Each text and image also has 2 black analogue clocks running forward and reverse underneath them. Beside those analogue clocks are 2 framed iPad screens with a digital life-long clock that counts forward from the day of the person’s birth to the day of their death, and another that counts back from the day of their death, to the day of their birth.
The second component is made up of black stone slabs with the names, birth and death dates, and ages of over 400 Black people killed by police between the years 2012-2022. 2012 was selected as it marks the beginning of the BLM movement.
The third component is a video titled ‘Black Elegy’. Maestro Jason Ikeem Rogers was commissioned to compose an original piece of music for the BLM Memorial Project. He is the founder of Orchestra Noir in Atlanta. He selected his all Black orchestra to play the piece, which was video recorded and edited for gallery installation. This is a link to the video: Black Elegy.
The BLM Memorial Project premiered in Coast Salish Territory (Vancouver) at The Alternatives Gallery from July 26 – Aug 2, 2023 with guest speakers Krystal Paraboo, Renée Austin, and an Indigenous welcome by Phabion Sutherland. It is currently being exhibited at the UFV Gallery in Sto:lo Territory (Abbotsford) from Sept 13 – Oct 11, 2023 with guest speaker Elmer Dixon, a former Black Panther and current International EDI speaker. It is with gratitude that we pay respect to the Coast Salish and Sto:lo Peoples and to the vibrant Indigenous communities that the galleries are situated in.
Drawings by Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware: Trayvon Martin, Jermaine Carby, Michael Brown, D’Andre Campbell, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd
Click on each drawing to read their bio.
BLM Memorial Guest Speakers
Brochure Text by Krystal Paraboo
There is a single guarantee in human life: that death is inevitable. Considering a human being is relatively healthy, the expansion of life lasts decades, until the body comes across ways of betraying itself in old age. The journey of Black human beings ending up in the Americas and Caribbean by way of the continent of Africa, is directly linked to the unwillingness of validating dark-skinned Africans as such; rather they were characterized as commodities for white economic expansion. This was the first instance of violence committed against Black bodies at the hands of white supremacy, and continues today with the continual loss of life of Black people at the hands of police brutality and systemic racism. Black people have been dying in significant numbers due to systemic racism and violence, and it was not until 2020 that the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum with the very public display of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis. For the first time, non-Black allyship came together in high numbers through protests, sponsorship, and shared resources in order to acknowledge these on-going tragedies. These deaths have been, and continue to be, intrinsically linked to the refusal to fully decolonize these systems that uphold the dehumanization of Black people. The Black Lives Matter Memorial Project is a multidisciplinary art exhibition that honours Black lives taken by police violence in Canada and the United States. It reflects on the systemic racism that exists in both countries, while recognizing the drive for hope, change and justice. Curator Toni Latour brings together Syrus Marcus Ware and Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers with Orchestra Noir.
Today in 2023, the conditions for Black Life are still not guaranteed. While the global support of the Black Lives Matter movement has significantly dwindled, the chorus of oppressed cries remains higher than ever. The Black Lives Matter Memorial Project explores this notion through constant strains of duality. The amalgamation of sonic and graphite formulate an experiential call to action, resetting the post-COVID stagnation in protecting Black lives.
Artist Syrus Marcus Ware, who is known vastly for his large-scale graphite drawings of joyous Black figures, his profound trans activism, and founding Black Lives Matter Toronto, brings his art back to Vancouver in the Black Lives Matter Memorial Project. With a similar approach to his “Out The Window” exhibition in 2018-19, Ware is depicting high-profile Black figures killed by police officers from Breonna Taylor to Jermaine Carby. Despite Ware working in a significantly smaller scale for this exhibition, he strategically manages to capture the colossal characteristics of these beautiful, engaging, smart human beings who should still be alive today. Ware intentionally selected poses where the figures are looking directly at the camera and smiling; a stare down as if attempting to convince audiences to view them as human beings who experience joy.
“I am thankful to depict these people; they were emotional to draw, because I was enmeshed in thinking of these humans, and wishing I could meet them and know more about them than just their death”. – Syrus Marcus Ware
The pairing of Ware’s graphite drawings happened simultaneously with Jason Ikeem Rodgers and Orchestra Noir’s journey of storytelling through the composition of “black elegy.” This is a collaboration that spanned the last two years producing a harmonious polarity that breathes life back into these Black victims. The sonic elements of the project replace traditional ekphrasis that accompany visual art, as both art forms come to the projects as equals, inspiring one another.
Orchestra Noir is instrumentally made up of a flute, string quartet, piano and saxophone, which is atypical for a chamber music setting. An elegy takes on multiple elemental aspects, ultimately serving a purpose in its lamentation for life loss. Orchestra Noir takes us through an auditory poem lamenting for all the Black lives taken at the hands of police brutality and systemic racism, specifically capturing the pathos of the turbulent time that was 2020. Grief takes precedence in the reverberated strings, producing a visceral feeling indicating there is trouble. The brass undertones memorialize the joyous characteristics whilst seeking the ability to heal; another duality within the duality that sparks a sensation of perseverance despite the sadness. The strength of the piano keys from Rodgers himself solidifies this. Viewers reach the part of experiencing the project where it is time for them to heal; a crucial, necessary step in an elegy.
The Black Lives Matter Memorial Project forces audiences to contemplate the value of human life, and the systems and methodologies that govern how this value is assigned to human life. The layers of duality in this exhibition remind us that we can mourn and celebrate simultaneously; that we can reclaim the journey to be one of healing. That by keeping these names, faces and memories alive, we are creating a new pattern that denies being silenced, or losing connections to victims that we can instead honour as our ancestors. We can tap into traces of these peoples’ lives today, including supporting their families and campaigns that work towards keeping their legacies alive. This exhibition provides autonomy for assigning value to Black lives.
– Krystal Paraboo
Panel Speaker Talk by Renée Austin
University of the Fraser Valley Exhibition and Guest Talk by Elmer Dixon
In collaboration with Tinthi Tembo from the BIPOC Creative Association, former Black Panther, Elmer Dixon, presented a guest lecture after the opening reception of the BLM Memorial Project at the University of the Fraser Valley on Sept 27, 2023.
Elmer Dixon is a life-long activist involved in social change since the Black Power Movement of the 1960’s. After meeting Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defence, in the spring of 1968, Elmer co-founded the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party.
Continuing his passion for social justice, Elmer has worked in the field of Human Rights, Multiculturalism and Inclusion for the past 35 years and now serves as President of Executive Diversity Services. Elmer has just completed and published his biography Die Standing: From Black Panther Revolutionary to Global Diversity Consultant, available for sale here.
Poster
Credits:
Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware: Drawings
Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers: Musical Composition
Orchestra Noir: Orchestral Performance
Toni Latour: Text Panels, Digital and Analogue Clocks, Stones
Paul-Jean Letourneau: Computer Programming
Sho Okano and Michelle Thompson: Writing and Fact Checking
Krystal Paraboo: Writer and Opening Reception MC and Speaker
Renée Austin: Opening Reception Speaker
Phabion Sutherland: Opening Reception Indigenous Welcome and Blessing
Alexandra Skinner: Promotions
Rina Larsson and Alexis Cseresnyesi: Installation
The artists would like to thank The Canada Council for the Arts, The BC Arts Council, The University of the Fraser Valley, Barrie Mowatt, and The Vancouver Biennale for their generous support of this project. A special thanks to Roaming the Planet for all photo documentation.
The BLM Memorial Project acknowledges that its exhibitions have taken place on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, and Sto:lo Nations. It is with gratitude that we pay respect to the vibrant Indigenous communities of these lands.
Press:
CBC Radio Interview with Syrus Marcus Ware (July 23, 2023)
CBC Radio Interview with Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers (July 23, 2023)
