Devan Shimoyama USA, b. 1989

This hoodie sculpture by Devan Shimoyama relates to a long running series that references the murder of Trayvon Martin, who was shot by an armed vigilante while peacefully walking around outside in a hoodie during a visit to his father's fiancee's townhouse. The title of this work references Martin's birth and death month. Says Shimoyama, "I see Trayvon Martin as a symbol that is much greater than an individual. Reflecting on a lot of young Black men killed due to police brutality or general racism, the hoodies are iterative. It is part of a continuum of processing. My feelings on them shift and change as the works shift and change with regards to scale, materiality and color." Shimoyama's hoodies are part of a larger body of work the artist mobilizes to examine the legacy of memorials, and the simultaneous coexistence of presence and loss.