Mourn For Me

Mourn For Me In numerous economically depressed & disenfranchised neighborhoods in N.Y.C, inhabited by predominantly people of color, the presence of R.I.P memorial wall murals, unfortunately are commonplace, along side other omnipresent perennial structures: liquor shops, funeral parlors, bodegas & Asian fast food shops. R.I.P memorial wall murals are democratic in nature, no matter how diverse your walk in life, no one is immune to being immortalized via a wall mural: musicians, some iconic, police brutality victims, children, athletes, neighborhood locals, suicide and disease victims, wrong place, wrong time innocent victims, the common hard working law abiding woman/man, your mother, cousin, daughter and an overwhelming percentage of fathers, uncles, brothers, grandfathers and potential future fathers. As I encounter an R.I.P memorial wall mural, I’m always in awe by the magnitude and artistic flare that went into these heartfelt & emotional portraits, whether life like or caricatures. Seeing these various R.I.P memorial wall murals as another variation of tombstones, my heart & compassion always goes out at the site of a commemorative wall, whether I know them personally or not. Over time, encountering scores upon scores of these R.I.P. murals leaves me overcome with a feeling of great sadness and a feeling of deep loss as a people; so many perished lives and unfortunately, so many future lives that the ‘hood will consume due to a multitude of social, economical, political, racial and other contributing factors. As a compassionate human being, acute observer & photographer, I’m intrigued by this kind of humanity, this compelling inner desire by loved ones, fans, strangers, friends, biological as well as street family, to pay homage/reverence via commissioned & non commissioning of beautiful, colorful & artistic memorial murals of the deceased, who obviously have impacted them tremendously leaving a painful void in their hearts.

Nehyru Fabre lives in New York City and holds a B.A. in Sociology from the City College of New York. Nehyru is a self-taught photographer, who shoots between 35mm and the digital medium. Among his varied interests, some of his subjects range from floral, cemeteries, aspects of urban living, female nudes, travel and documentary. He has traveled and photographed in Montreal, Rome, the U.K., Venice and various locations throughout France & the United States and is currently working on several photographic series throughout the U.S. and France.