In the Goodwyn Gallery at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, a small collection of photographs offers visitors a more personal view of Tyre Nichols, whose death after a police encounter sparked national protests and calls for reform in 2023. Titled “Through Tyre’s Eyes,” the exhibit features 16 images he captured — ordinary scenes that now carry deeper meaning for his family and the community.
For his sister, Keanna Dixon, seeing the photographs displayed publicly is both emotional and affirming.
“It’s very emotional. It’s a beautiful thing, because my brother’s passion was photography,” she said. “He could find the beauty in anything. He would say, ‘Maybe one day my stuff will be in an art gallery.’ I would tell him, ‘Keep taking those pictures.’”
“This makes my heart smile to see this,” Dixon said. “Tyre captured the oddest things and made them beautiful. Unfortunately, my brother is a part of Memphis history because of what happened to him here. It’s very unfortunate and very sad for my family, but this exhibit gives people a chance to see him not as a headline, but as a young man who had a beautiful eye and who was an aspiring photographer.”
Dixon hopes seeing her brother’s work on display will encourage other young photographers. “Hopefully this exhibit will inspire some kids to follow their dreams and their passion,” she said. “I know my brother would love that.”
Among the photographs are deeply personal images, including a selfie Nichols took of himself sitting in a shopping cart when he was about 14 or 15, according to Dixon. Another shows a sky camera — an object that would later become an unexpected part of the story surrounding his death.
“He took that picture months before what happened to him,” Dixon said. “The fact that he took a picture of that sky cam — the actual one that captured what happened to him months before it happened — is mind-blowing. He ran far enough to get to that same sky cam.”
The Goodwyn Gallery regularly features local artists, offering space for both established and first-time creators to share their work with the public.
“In the Goodwyn Gallery, we welcome Memphis artists of various skill levels and mediums to give voice to their work, whether they’re well known or showing for the first time,” said Darnell McCurdy, events scheduling coordinator for Memphis Public Libraries. “We also try to connect their work to themes for the month, and in this case, the Tyre Nichols photo exhibit aligns with Black History Month.”
The gallery is designed to be an accessible, reflective space.
“We try to keep what’s displayed as local, current and fresh as possible,” McCurdy said. “The gallery is designed as an open-view space where people passing through can stop, look and reflect on what’s there.”
Among the visitors who stopped to view the exhibit was Angela Hudson.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re looking at an art show. “It feels like you’re looking at someone’s life,” Hudson said. “These are the kinds of pictures any of us might take, but knowing Tyre Nichols took them makes you stop and really think about this young man and who he was before we knew about him.”
According to McCurdy, Hudson’s reaction typifies what he is hearing from visitors as they view the varied images — mainly taken outside — including those of iconic locations like Beale Street and the I-55 Memphis-Arkansas Bridge.
“People who have viewed Tyre Nichols’ work have described it as inspiring and powerful,” he said. “Some visitors have fought back tears. They’ve said it gives them a chance to see Tyre Nichols beyond the tragedy.”
Curated by Jay Etkin Gallery, the exhibit is on display through Feb. 28.
