Shepard Fairey does Trayvon Martin for Ebony cover
Florida teen Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman, as interpreted by artist Shepard Fairey.
Trayvon Martin is on Ebony magazine’s newest issue thanks to artist Shepard Fairey, the man behind President Barack Obama’s Hope poster.
On his website, Fairey said the magazine approached him months ago, but he couldn’t reveal his work until the issue hit newsstands.
“I have followed Trayvon’s case closely, and I think any compassionate human being can relate to Trayvon as a brother or son and would want to see a thorough investigation into the killing of an unarmed person,” Fairey writes online. “In my portrait, I wanted to emphasize Trayvon’s humanity as well as the public outcry for a just investigation into his death.”
Fairey first made headlines with the Obama poster, an image that resulted in multiple court cases.
The 42-year-old graphic artist first denied, and then admitted, to basing Hope on an image taken by Mannie Garcia, a freelance photographer working for The Associated Press.
More from GlobalPost: Fairey pleads guilty to contempt of court
The parties settled outside court in January 2011; however, Fairey admitted to destroying evidence related to the case, and returns to court in July for sentencing.
He faces a maximum six months in jail or a fine, according to The New York Times.
The Martin case returns to court June 1 so a judge can consider requests from lawyers surrounding statements and witnesses, The Associated Press reported.
The man accused of killing the 17-year-old Martin in February apparently made statements to police that help establish his guilt, prosecutors said.
The neighborhood watch volunteer “provided law enforcement with numerous statements, some of which are contradictory, and are inconsistent with the physical evidence and statements of witnesses,” prosecutors said, according to the AP.
Zimmerman’s defense filed its own motion, asking a judge to keep the accused’s statements sealed.
“The release of that information would be highly prejudicial to Mr. Zimmerman's case,” lawyer Mark O’Mara wrote in the filing.
More from GlobalPost: Witnesses changing stories in Travyon Martin case