Denver artist Andy Bell has taken an interesting route in artistically expressing his feelings for the Trayvon Martin tragedy. The graduating art student constructed a 3-by-4 foot portrait of suspected killer George Zimmerman made entirely out of Skittles, the candy Martin was holding at the time of his death.
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The portrait, entitled “Fear Itself,” used more than 12,000 pieces of the sugar-coated candies to flesh out the image of Zimmerman’s mug shot.
RedLine Gallery explained to The Huffington Post, “Zimmerman’s fear directly resulted in Trayvon Martin being shot and killed. But in the end, the only thing he had to fear was a 17-year-old and a bag of Skittles.”
Bell told the Denver Post he created the portrait to raise awareness about the case but has sympathy for Zimmerman, who may have a history of mental illness. He said he is waiting to hear all the facts before making his own judgement.
The Post reports, “The piece isn’t about condemning Zimmerman, but a way of tapping into the conversations that have sprung up in a country divided by judgement on the case. Some believe Zimmerman killed an innocent kid. Others think he was acting in self-defense.”
“It’s a symbol of what happens when you let fear rule your life,” Bell said.