George Floyd Square, Minneapolis
George Floyd Square, Minneapolis, 2023
A crossroads, a turning point
Chalk on the tarmac. Teddy bears, flags, signs. A lady waters the flowers. A child asks questions.
Floyds aunt tells us something. The sound is everyday, and completely unusual.
Crooked metal. Tape, posters, tags. Not a stopping point - a point of reference.
No-one speaks out loud here. There’s enough writing on the walls.
GEORGE PERRY FLOYD SQUARE is written in white against the tarmac. The sign looks official. And it is.
People walk across the intersection without rushing. Some stop in the middle.
Their eyes are larger than life. They’re not looking at you - they’re looking past. People walk slowly. Some kneel. Some put something down.
The wall carries a face. And all the faces around it.
It’s just asphalt. Worn, patchy and unmarked. But someone stops here, and stands still.
There’s chalk there. And flowers. Some fresh, some wilted. A street corner that never became ordinary again.
The colour fades. The contours loosen. But the image doesn’t disappear.
Nobody protects it with glass or rope. People walk around it - or stop in it.
The names are painted with a brush, not a machine. A new name can still fit.
Green shoots sprout beneath them. Some call it a grave. Some call it a garden.