Roy Ferdinand

First published: Spring 2004

Raw in details and viscerally effective, the drawing shows a desperate man being attacked by a police dog as he tries to hide under an old clapboard house. In the foreground, cropped at the shoulders by the edge of the poster board, an anonymous police officer points a pistol towards his head. While his crime is unknown and emotions toward the mauled suspect may be mixed, the scene tells a vivid story of horror and humiliation.

‘I don’t really have to make any of this up – I used to be able to see or hear about things like this standing on a corner in Gert Town,’ says Roy Ferdinand, who has lived most of his life on the New Orleans streets he shows in his art.

This is an article extract; read the full article in Raw Vision #46