© 2015 Markus Prime
Nationwide — Just like millions of others, 29-year-old artist Markus Prime saw the recent viral footage of the police officer attacking and arresting a 15-year-old black girl at a pool party in McKinney, Texas. But for Prime, he was really overcome with emotions and as an artist, his mind got busy.He told the Huffington Post, “It struck a nerve. This particular incident spoke to me because these things happen every day but this time it happened to a child.” He also says that he felt a rush of anger, and used that to channel his emotions and use them as fuel to express what he felt through his art.
So, he took out his tools and started drawing the picture above, which went viral around the world and has already been seen by millions of people on social media.
He commented, “The video bothered me and I didn’t want [my response] to be anything complicated,” he said. “I just wanted to make my point in the most simplistic but powerful way possible.”
Via his art, Prime says he just wanted to show what it would look like if a black woman were given the same kind of respect that white men receive.
Here’s what people are saying on Instagram and Twitter:
“I’m seeing this everywhere man so simple of a drawing with a powerful message.” — @addledge
“Markus Prime is honestly my fave.” — @CestMichaela
“This image by artist Markus Prime is SO powerful in all of its simplicity!” — @StefanWeathers
“Don’t follow much artist or people who draw. But I dig Markus Prime’s art work.” — @Word2MyKnicks
Regarding all the recognition, Prime says that he simply wants to create and bring awareness to issues about Black women. In fact, a lot of his work is “centered around various empowering depictions of black women and reimagining how they’re presented.”
Prime believes that Black women are “strong and powerful”, and “resilient” because they have to deal with the same issues a black man has to deal with, plus more. “Personally, it’s an obligation because of what we’re going through as a race, we should put black women at a higher platform,” he says.
To see more work by Markus Prime, visit:
http://urbanbushbabes.com/artist-markus-prime/