Oh Ye Of Little Consequence!

The murals below are located in Salt Lake City on 300 West, between 800 and 900 South, a “transitional” warehouse district. A smattering of apartments/condos are going up in the area, and a few blocks to the south are a Walmart, a Target, and a bit farther, a Costco. So, a lot of people in cars and trucks travel past these faces, which, surely, is of little consequence to them, thus the name of this website. Nevertheless, the murals are there to serve as a reminder of the heavy hand of “law and order,” yes, even out here in squeaky clean Salt Lake City. Of the 26 current murals, only George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are not from the Salt Lake Metro area.

Here is a closer view of the east section of the mural wall. A young man’s mother and sister were there when I took this photo. He was shot in the back by police officers, who were subsequently cleared of any wrong doing. The circumstances behind the shooting are not as significant as the fact that all of these lives were cut short by the police, which is important. Note the chalk writings on the sidewalk. Note also, the tribute spaces underneath each face. I spoke with several young people who were creating them. Everyone is a volunteer, as is the artist, totally anonymous and greatly admired by me.

Update: The highly regarded PBS documentary series, “FRONTLINE,” aired a chilling program, “Shots Fired.” It’s about police shootings in Utah. The tragic fates of several of the faces here are shown in the documentary (a caution to sensitive viewers).

The Breonna Taylor tribute, on the south wall, an entrance to the building.

My Role. Some time ago, I was alerted to these murals by a friend, so being a photographer, I grabbed my camera and went to investigate. Shortly after photographing each mural and “cleaning them up,” i.e., removing some photographic anomalies from the original shots, I set up this site. Other than that, and I want to make this very clear, I have had no role in the inception of this heart-rending project, nor in its implementation. In this instance, my role is simply that of a journalist, a documentarian. I am grateful to the artist, curator(s), and volunteers, whoever they are, for creating this poignant reminder of our disappearing sense of justice and fairness as nation. And to the families of the slain, my deepest condolences.