Police Terror Family Portraits

In 2014 after the murder of Michael Brown Kate began painting portraits of the parents and family members of people killed by police. The series is meant to reposition this story from away from dominant police narratives to the perspective of the people who knew each victim best and are most deeply impacted by their murders. It is a call to white parents to take action in solidarity to dismantle American policing understanding that if not moving to interrupt the violence perpetrated upon anyone’s child, we’re condoning it. Kate has immense gratitude to every family who has trusted her to create portraits. It is impossible to capture the heartbreak along with the unwavering love that each person carries for their loved one and each other. Many of these pieces were created as part of a series with Tess Raser who interviewed mothers about their children and published their stories as counter narratives from 2014-16. There may be no stronger more powerful group of people in America than the mothers who have lost their kids to the cops and who wake up each day & support each other while fighting to change the system.