This is me Yo, Right Here

One of the first art pieces that I ever created was based on one of my favorite shows…HBO’s The Wire; a program that examines the lives of people in Baltimore from both sides of the law. I always found that the characters and storytelling spoke to me on a personal level.

The image is based on a scene from the first season episode called “Cleaning Up.” It’s the final button on the story of a character named ‘Wallace’, played by Michael B. Jordan.

Wallace, after leaving the street life for a brief time, had returned to the hood only to be killed by his “friends” and left alone in an abandoned row house. Sharing the scene is the homicide Detective, Bunk Moreland aka Wendell Pierce, who looks down at the boy’s body with sadness and disappointment at his fate.

When I revisit the show I often think about what this scene says about a world, where so many people get caught up in situations beyond their control. The words written on the wall behind the figures is from one of the last scenes Wallace has with another character. The words “This is me Yo, right here,” were supposed to signal us in the audience that Wallace had made a decision to stick with his crew and the life he was comfortable with. How ironic that they were also a statement on where he ended up.

Peace.