Justin Timberlake has joined his hometown of Memphis in mourning Tyre Nichols, a man whose untimely passing was preceded by a brutal beatdown from police. The Justified singer paid tribute to the 29-year-old, who described himself as an aspiring photographer, in posts shared on social media.
“Memphis lost another creative, peaceful soul,” wrote Timberlake. A carousel of images snapped by Nichols accompanied the tribute. The caption, posted on Saturday (Jan. 28), continued, “Here are some of Tyre Nichols’ photos — ‘Beale Street Magic’, bridges, sunsets. A reminder of who he was and how he lived… rather than how he was brutally taken from this community. My heart is with his family and my hometown as they heal. #JusticeforTyre.”
On his portfolio site, Nichols introduced himself, stating that he mostly captured images for fun but that the art form also served a greater purpose. “Photography helps me look at the world in a more creative way,” he wrote. He explained that photos gave him the depth of expression that words sometimes lacked. He continued, “My vision is to bring my viewers deep into what I am seeing through my eye and out through my lens. People have a story to tell. Why not capture it instead of doing the norm and writing it down or speaking it?”
He ended by sharing that he hoped to one day “let people see what I see and to hopefully admire my work based on the quality and ideals of my work.” In his photos, he captured the Beale Street Bridge, the iconic Memphis Business Journal building located downtown, murals and the pulse of the city’s vibrant nightlife scene in Beale Street’s entertainment district.
Memphis, like several other cities across the country, was the scene of protests throughout the weekend. Ahead of the outrage over the release of bodycam footage, Nichols’ parents asked that demonstrators gather peacefully. Thus far, only a handful of non-peaceful outbursts have been reported, primarily in New York.
View Timberlake’s tribute below.