Dallas artist Jammie Holmes on having George Floyd's last words flown in the sky - The Dallas Morning News

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Last Saturday, you might have seen a banner with the words “My Neck Hurts” flying over Dallas. Dallas-based artist Jammie Holmes was behind the aerial presentation.

The banner was one of five flown over different U.S. cities. Each displayed a few of the last words uttered by George Floyd, the African-American man whose name now echoes through American streets as protestors march.

In a matter of two days, Holmes made the calls and got to work putting the banners together. Miami’s read “My Stomach Hurts.” Detroit’s: “Please I can’t breathe”; Los Angeles’: “Everything Hurts”; and New York’s: “They’re going to kill me.”

A banner reading "My neck hurts," which were among George Floyd's last words, trails behind a plane flying over Dallas as part of an artwork by Dallas artist Jammie Holmes.(Mark LaBoyteaux)

The sky is a new medium for Holmes, who typically paints portraits of African-American men and women in acrylic and oil. It was a perfect canvas for the message he wanted to get across, he said, calling it “a great way to show unity.” It’s a spot where people can, quite literally, look up from their screens and the streets for a moment to find a bit of hope and solidarity.

“I’m hoping that it’s giving people a mental break,” Holmes said. “Social media is flooded with so much negativity. The sky is free. No matter black or white, nobody owns that thing.”

A banner reading "Please I can't breathe," which were among George Floyd's last words, trails behind a plane flying over Detroit as part of an artwork by Dallas artist Jammie Holmes.(Hayden Stinebaugh)

Holmes’ website describes the project as a form of “protest meant to bring people together in their shared incense at the inhumane treatment of American citizens.”

He says everyone gets to see it — whether they want to be reminded of the realities of racial injustice or not.

“Go to the beach in Miami and while you’re on your vacation, trying to run away from the real problem, while you’re getting your tan, there’s an airplane flying over saying ‘My Stomach Hurts,’” Holmes says.

A banner reading "My stomach hurts," which were among George Floyd's last words, trails behind a plane flying over Miami as part of an artwork by Dallas artist Jammie Holmes.(Andre De Aguilar)

The project speaks even louder because of its author: an African-American man who grew up in the small town of Thibodaux, La. “That’s why this has taken off the way it took off,” Holmes says. “If I grew up wealthy, the message wouldn’t have felt the way it felt right here.” The gallery that represents him, Library Street Collective in Detroit, funded the project.

Thibodaux has a long history of racial violence. “Because of all the blood that was shed over the sugarcane, the place itself has so much negativity,” Holmes says, referring to the Thibodaux Massacre in which white men slaughtered dozens of black plantation workers after an 1887 labor strike. “At times it gets bad, it really gets bad. The city itself is almost cursed because of the history that was there. It’s crazy, it blew my mind.”

Holmes left his hometown in 2016. About a week ago, he posted on Instagram that it’s “Still a full time job trying to stay alive!” Asked about the statement, he says, “It’s very stressful. You have to be cautious. I always feel like you have to walk on thin rope, because if you go to Highland Park, you don’t want to be too black.”

A banner reading "They're going to kill me," which were among George Floyd's last words, trails behind a plane flying over New York City as part of an artwork by Dallas artist Jammie Holmes.(Sue Kwon)

The Dallas Contemporary is showcasing Holmes’ photographs of the aerial banners on their website beginning June 16, along with other resources to address police brutality including petitions and ways to donate in support of the cause. The Dallas Contemporary also has two remote panels in the works on systemic racism and actions people can take to combat it. Holmes says he hopes the efforts will move the national conversation forward at the local level.

"Just because we did it last week, it’s still not over,” Holmes says. “We are still fighting for the same thing. The Floyd situation was the breaking point. We had enough. We was tired already. It’s time to hold people accountable.”

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