Petah Coyne
Untitled #1486 (Justice for Elijah McClain/Black Lives Matter), (2020)
Polaroid print
4.25 x 10.5 inches
Street Art By: Beatriz Ramos (left); Unknown (center); @dpfstudio (right)
Petah Coyne lives in Soho which was heavily affected during the first nights of protests against the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African-Americans lost to us from police brutality. After the first nights, many storefronts boarded up their windows with plywood, but within 24 hours, these grim facades blossomed into inspiring and accomplished murals. Petah commented to me that the alacrity in which they were done, with the simplest of materials, reminded her of early days when Soho was a true artists’ neighborhood.
What resonates is the marriage of the pressing issue of today, Black Lives Matter, and the heroic and sensitive way the subjects are painted. Petah’s handwriting feels urgent to communicate what she saw and what she felt and what we can feel, too. Though I’d love to know who the artists are—individual or collectives—Petah as an artist and documentarian has captured their presence. – Mary Sabbatino