The artwork
Ghanaian artist, Enil, has paid an emotional tribute to 15-year-old Javits Frimpong with a powerful portrait mounted on an easel.
The artwork is a detailed pen-sketch of Javits, capturing his youthful face with a gentle smile and short curly hair, rendered in intricate black scribble and cross-hatching lines that give it a raw, soulful depth.
The most striking element is a bold, thick horizontal stroke of blood-red paint smeared across his eyes, completely covering them.
The red paint is deliberately made to drip downwards from the eyes down onto his cheeks like tears of blood, symbolising pain, violence, and the silencing of a young life.
The contrast between the calm, innocent expression of the boy and the violent red blindfold creates a haunting visual statement on bullying, loss, and the tragedy of his shooting death in the Bronx.
The piece is signed “Enil” at the bottom right corner of the canvas.
It is both a memorial and a protest piece — simple, yet deeply moving.
In a post on X, Enil wrote, “A mother’s love and a father’s hope,
Snatched from their grip by a foul rogue.
The destiny of a young immigrant lad,
Killed in another man’s land.
I felt quite emotional creating this tribute art of Javits Frimpong on All Saints’ Day. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. No one does.
May he rest peacefully in heaven.”
By Prince Fiifi Yorke