Fifteen years ago I began to photograph sites where LTBGQ and individuals misidentified as such have been murdered. The American landscape is rife with sites like these where the mythology of America meets the reality of its people. Pushing on our notions of photographs as memory tools, implicating us as we stand before the enlarged prints, and challenging us to consider the number of these sites across the United States, Mementi Mori is as much about our society as a whole as it is about individual lives cut short and mostly forgotten in a battle for a more inclusive and welcoming nation.
Anthony Perkins. Washington, D.C. “Wingate declined to say how many times Perkins was shot or whether he was shot by someone sitting beside him inside the car or whether the shots came from outside the vehicle. ‘He was an intended target,’ Wingate said. ‘It was not a random shooting.’”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010.
Aaron Hall. Crothersville, IN. “The beatings included repeated pummelings with fists and boots and dragging Hall down a wooden staircase by his feet as ‘his head bounced down all of the steps,’ in one of the accused’s words. He died naked and alone, in a field, where he had crawled after his killers dumped his body in a roadside ditch.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009.
Rashawn Brazell. Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NYC. “On February 17, parts of 19 year-old Rashawn Brazell's dismembered body were found in the ‘A’ Train tunnel near the Nostrand Avenue subway station in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The medical examiner believes Rashawn was kept alive for two days before he was dismembered and disposed of in the trash bags.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010.
Lawrence King. Oxnard, CA. “Brandon walked into the room with a gun and shot Lawrence in the head.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40 x 50. 2009.
Matthew Shepard. Laramie, WY. “Matthew’s major injuries upon arrival consisted of hypothermia and a fracture from behind his head to just in front of the right ear. This has caused bleeding in the brain, as well as pressure on the brain.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009.
Michael Despain. Phoenix. “There was smoke in his lungs, which meant that the victim was alive when the fire engulfed the townhouse.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009.
Clinton Risetter. Santa Barbara, CA. “The back of Risetter’s throat was red and swollen, indicating that he inhaled hot gases for a brief time.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009.
Kevin Clewer. Chicago, IL. “You saw the last breaths of life my Son took; life ended by your hand.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010.
Alexis King. Philadelphia. “Inside his car, Oates discovered that King, a biological male who dressed like a woman, had a penis. [Oates] then shot King twice.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2008.
Guinn Richie Phillips. Elizabethtown, KY "McAnly said that Cottrell invited Phillips to his Elizabethtown motel room. When Phillips arrived, Cottrell asked if Phillips liked him without his shirt, and when Phillips said yes and touched him, Cottrell put him in a headlock and choked him. Cottrell's cousin – Tara Gaddie – testified that Cottrell arrived at her home in Phillips' truck after disposing of his body in Rough River Lake, and answered 'He's gone. He's dead.'"
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009
Brad Winters. Chicago, IL. “He was naked except for a pair of socks, and eight stab wounds were visible on his head, neck, right cheek, shoulder, and upper back.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Phillip Walsted. Tucson, AZ. “His face swollen beyond recognition, [he] was spotted in a pool of blood… At least two of the blows penetrated his skull.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2009
“Shortly before he was sentenced, the 19-year-old said he ‘can't feel guilty’ for killing a man in disgust after a homosexual encounter. ‘There's no reason I should be held accountable for this.’”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2009.
Jose Sucuzhanay. Bushwick, Brooklyn, NYC. “He looked back and saw a second assailant beating his prone brother with an aluminum baseball bat, striking him repeatedly on the head and body. The man with the broken bottle turned back and joined the beating and kicking.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Tony Hunter. Washington, D.C. “Four months behind bars for killing a gay man.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010
Daniel Yakovleff. Boston. “He said he awoke at around 6 a.m. to find Yakovleff in his bed with a 13-inch carving knife in his chest, surrounded by blood.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Robert Duncanson. Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NYC. “Brooklyn jurors Wednesday convicted a teen of viciously knifing to death a gay man he said flirted with him.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Nizah Morris. Philadelphia. “Minutes later, a passing motorist discovered Morris lying on the sidewalk, bleeding from the right side of her forehead.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Steen Fenrich. Bayside, Queens, NYC. “On March 21, 2000 the remains of Steen Fenrich were found by a man walking through Alley Pond Park, in Bayside, Queens, stored in a plastic blue tub. The tub contained a skull that had been burned by acid, a foot with some flesh still on it, and other body parts. The remains were identified as those of Steen Fenrich by his Social Security number, which had been written on the skull, along with racial and homophobic slurs. Steen, at age 19, was killed by his step-father, because Steen was gay.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Durval Martins. Logan Circle, Washington, D.C. “Durval Martins, a 35-year-old gay man and one of nine children, said good-bye to his friends on 17th Street and started his walk home. He never made it. He was shot to death at the intersection of 11th and Q.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010
Theodore Fay. Manhattan, NYC. “Mr. Fay was shot twice in the back at 3:55 A.M. on Sept. 13 as he stood outside his car on Third Avenue. Mr. Fay was the operator of the Midtown 43 Club at 127 West 43d Street, which the police said catered to homosexual men.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Henry Northington. Richmond, Virginia. “Northington's severed head had been placed squarely in the center of the walkway, leading many to speculate that the murderer(s) had intended to make an anti-gay statement.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010.
In the collection of Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.
Danisha Williams. Bradenton, Florida. “Arriving officers discovered the victim was stabbed to death in his apartment at Cedar Tree Apartments at 1909 West 5th Street. The investigation revealed that the victim was stabbed then placed in the bathtub.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010
Alexio Bell. Miami, Florida. “During their investigation, police determined Bello had been stabbed to death and found a pair of bloody shoes belonging to Navarrete near Bello's body.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50”x 40”. 2010.
Nireah Johnson and Brandie Coleman. Indianapolis, Indiana. “The coroner's report said that each had been shot in the forehead before the fire started. Investigators determined that gasoline had been poured into the back seat and ignited.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010
Simmie Williams. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Sgt. Frank Sousa said Williams' murder was not being investigated as a hate crime. But that police had not ruled out Williams' sexual orientation as a factor.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2010.
Arthur Downey. Maplewood, New Jersey. “Yesterday, Staten, admitted he beat Downey, 27, with an iron just hours after they met then covered Downey’s head with a plastic bag. The cause of death was bludgeoning and asphyxiation.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2011.
Victoria Carmen White. Maplewood, New Jersey. “’You a dude?" Foster claimed Chambers shouted at White. Three gunshots followed seconds later, he said. The .22-caliber handgun allegedly used in the killing was never recovered.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2011.
Tiffany Berry. Memphis, Tennessee. “Minutes later, Berry stumbled into the lobby of the apartment building, where she died moments later. She had been shot three times, in the chest.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2011.
Mark Harris. Delray Beach, Florida. “At least 12 gunshots were fired before a 30-year-old hotel manager was left dead just outside his home, police said.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2011.
Julio Rivera. Queens, New York. “Daniel Doyle, 21 years old, said that after he instigated the attack in the early morning of July 2, 1990, his friends on trial, Erik Brown, 21, and Esat Bici, 19, lured the victim, Julio Rivera, into an isolated corner of a Jackson Heights schoolyard known as a gay cruising area and beat Mr. Rivera with the hammer and a beer bottle before Mr. Doyle stabbed him.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2011.
Michael “Mikey” Seiber. Rubidoux, California. “A three year old boy who lived in Riverside, CA, he was kicked, beaten, stomped, burned, sodomized, and forced to eat dog food and his own excrement by his mother's boyfriend – Alex Kermith Mendoza. Mendoza critical of Vallejo-Seiber's upbringing, calling the child a “sissy” and saying he wanted to make him a ‘soldier.’”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2013.
Feliciano Moreno. Los Angeles, California. “Following the murder on a block near Melrose Avenue, Vallor dumped Moreno’s body in a cul-de-sac, drawing the attention of a resident who called police with a description of Vallor’s car.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2017.
Bella Martinez. Hollywood, California. “The victim, Bella Martinez, was found shot to death inside her apartment at 1837 N. Gramercy Pl. on August 20, 2004.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2017.
Duanna Johnson. Memphis, Tennessee. “Ms. Johnson sustained a gunshot wound to the head late on Nov. 9, the police said, and officers found her body after responding to a shooting call in North Memphis.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2017.
Daniel Castro. Santa Ana, California. “When the victim pushed the man back, the assailant pulled out a small-caliber handgun and shot Castro once, killing him.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2017.
"The brothers beat and strangled the teacher in his car, took Cox to his home, put his body on a couch, took items from Cox’s home, loaded them into his car and drove to their home."
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50x40". 2017.
“On the morning of March 27, a man came to her Queens apartment, for reasons that the authorities said remained unclear. He left 17 hours later, alone. Her body, naked except for a bra, was discovered face down on her bed. She had been strangled by hand and doused in bleach.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50"x40". 2017.
“Carla Leigh Salazar died from numerous stab wounds sometime Wednesday or early Thursday, Santa Ana Police Sgt. Dick Faust said.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50". 2017.
“By any standards, Skipper's murder was vicious. He was stabbed 20 times inside his car. His throat was slit, his face pummeled. The attackers took his jewelry, his laptop and his new car, and dropped his body by the side of the road in Wahneta, a small town outside Winter Haven.”
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 40”x 50”. 2017.
"The autopsy showed Weaver had been beaten, strangled, stabbed multiple times, doused with gasoline, and set afire. Investigators believe the teen was tied to a chair and killed in his home. 'It took a very long and painful time for him to die.'"
Polychrome archival print from colour negative. 50"x40". 2017.
