Sculptures of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to Be Sold at Auction for Charity

Artist Chris Carnabuci with his sculptures of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, which are to be sold at Sotheby's to raise money for charities set up by the families of the two victims of police violence. Ed Jones AFP

Sculptures of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, two Black Americans whose deaths at the hands of police in 2020 rocked the United States, are to be auctioned for charity after being exhibited in New York, Sotheby's said Thursday.

The pieces will be on sale online until December 17 and the profits will go to associations founded by the families of the two victims, "We are Floyd" and "The Breonna Taylor Foundation," Sotheby's said.

The two statues are the work of artist Chris Carnabuci, while the statue of Taylor has been decorated by Brooklyn-based Nigerian artist Laolu Senbanjo, also known as Laolu NYC, who has worked with Beyonce in the past.

The golden statue of George Floyd, who was killed last May at age 46 when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for some nine minutes, had been vandalized with spray paint while on display in Union Square in Manhattan.

It has since been cleaned up, and the 1.8 meter (six foot) sculpture is expected go for between $100,000 and $150,000.

Taylor was shot dead at the age of 26 in Louisville, Kentucky, on the night of March 12, 2020. Her image is expected to sell for between $20,000 and $30,000.

The sculpture is decorated with patterns from Yoruba culture, a source of inspiration for Laolu Senbanjo.

Floyd's death, and the images of the police officer pressing his knee to his neck just two months after Taylor's death, sent shock waves through the United States and sparked widespread protests and a national debate on racism and police violence targeting African Americans.