Code of Silence

A recent assignment for the Boston Globe Op-Ed page. The article is about the 2007 murder of 18-year-old Dwayne Graham, who was shot in the head and lay on the floor of a crowded bus in the heart of Dorchester. There were few cooperative witnesses and no obvious suspect. The shooter was outside the bus and the code of silence was high. We decided to take this illustration in the direction of "anonymous" by using black silhouetted figures within a crowded bus. The original illustration ran with x's over their mouths to push the silence factor . . . However, after the illustration was turned in and published I thought I might try to bind their mouths with white cloth also shown above. Thanks Heather, for this opportunity. Collage and mixed media.