‘Ink Tributes’ pay homage to victims of police brutality, civil rights heroes

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Initially, West planned to create four “ink tributes” and post them solely on social media, using the images to honor the memories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Orlando Castille and Christian Cooper. Instead, he ended up with over 40 illustrations, including portraits of Vice President Kamala Harris, Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman — who was widely praised for leading rioters away from the U.S. Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021 — and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “So many of these folks, one way or another, are standing up for civil rights or standing up for themselves in some way,” West said. “[With] Eugene Goodman, there were a couple of photos of him running up the stairs and standing in the doorway that almost looked superhero-like.”

"Ink Tribute" of Christian Cooper and Tony McDade
Miya Norfleet
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St. Louis Public Radio
"Ink Tribute" of Christian Cooper and Ton
West’s son inspired a number of the portraits in his “ink tributes,” including Nina Pop, a Black transgender woman murdered in Sikeston, Missouri, in 2020. “Nina Pop in particular and Tony McDade, they were transgender. And my son is transgender,” West said. “[The portraits] were a cathartic project for me to sit with these folks, stare at their images and pay some type of tribute.”

For more about Marlon West’s “Ink Tributes” including how the social media project ended up in the St. Louis University Museum of Art and the inclusion of “people in uniform” in his tributes, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast by clicking the play button below."