Sophia Dawson is a Brooklyn based visual artist who has dedicated her life’s work to exposing the stories and experiences of individuals who are striving to overcome the injustices they face.

This isn’t Brooklyn Artist Sophia Dawson’s first time painting a mother who’s lost her son to police violence. She’s been working on this theme for years. The 2014 mural “Every Mother’s Son” shows, among others, the moms of Eric Garner, Amadou Diallo, and Anthony Baez. All killed by New York City police.

The focus of your work as it relates to police brutality really centers on the mothers of the victims.

“In conversation with other friends who were artists, we were talking about how not everyone can sympathize or empathize with a person of color who passes away, but a mothers loss for her child is a universal feeling, so maybe that’s what you should focus on as far as painting instead,” said Sophia Dawson, an artist.

Right over your shoulder we see your artistic interpretation of the young George Floyd.

“It’s a portrait of him as a child being cradled in his mother’s arms and so that’s different because I’ve been painting the mothers without the victims. But I think that there is something very special about this moment, especially considering the fact that he called out for his mother as one of his last words,” said Dawson.

Dawson has created a range of work on the subject including a performance piece on roller skates. Her imagery also appears in the “A Mother’s Rite,” a ballet by Jeremy McQueen also inspired by mothers who’ve lost their sons to police and racial violence.

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