Sugarcane & Cotton: In Conversation with Mark Wilson Jr.
By Brandon Wisecarver
Photos by King Nathan
On Monday, August 29th, 2022, I went out to Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn to see an exhibition featuring our newest studio member, Mark Wilson Jr. I rarely get out of Manhattan anymore but Mark’s work is really something that should be seen in person. Although originally a painter his work has recently made a leap into the third dimension through the ancient art of mask making. His new assemblage masks, helmets, or whatever you wish to call them are teeming with life and tell their stories through creative use of everyday household objects. Gun holsters, nails, pipes, lighters, golf tees, sea shells and a myriad of other common items transform to become the visages of formidable warriors. They echo designs and visual tropes that have been with us since the very beginning of human civilization. It’s only after closer inspection that their contemporary origins begin to reveal themselves.
Curator (right) Kristen Walkes
When I arrived at the venue Mark hadn’t yet gotten there so I, naturally, rooted out the organizer to ask some basic questions about the show, entitled “Sugarcane and Cotton”. I finally tracked down curator Kristen Walkes (@sugarcane_and_cotton). After complimenting them for their selections (and the amazing catering from Mango Seed and Zurilee) I learned it was their first curatorial venture. The show’s concept is described as “a reimagining of a boundless world that grants freedom and liberation to the African Diaspora.” The other work present had a much more contemporary vibe allowing Mark’s masks to act as a sort of grounding root to the past shared by all peoples of African heritage.
Artist Mark Wilson Jr.
I’m outside on the phone when Mark arrives and I pull him aside for a quick interview about the show, the work, and his hopes for the future.
Brandon Wisecarver: So tell me a little bit about how you got hooked up with this group and new curator.
Mark Wilson Jr: I gave them a follow on Instagram and they ended up sharing my work. I submitted to the call for this show and after a phone call and studio visit she told me her mission and her statement and it aligned with my work, so I thought it was perfect.
BW: How did you start making art in the first place?
MWJ: So it’s funny… I was 24 and going to church. We had to buy the kids a gift and I went and bought an art kit but when I took it home I opened it to check it out. I started making art and I was like ‘wait, I like this… I think this is going to be a gift for me’. I felt bad but at the same time I felt liberated.
BW: How did you get from painting to creating these amazing masks?
MWJ: So I was a painter before going into collage while I was living in Washington and was inspired by totem poles.. I had all these leftover materials sitting around and made one mask and thought ‘Wait, this is kind of funny’ and I took funky pictures with them posing. I made a few more and people were really responding well to them so I started investigating how to involve others and make them functional and sturdier for fashion shows, music videos, and photo shoots.
BW: Do you still paint?
MWJ: I still do paint. I’ll do one month of mask making and one month of painting. It helps me keep fresh eyes on the work. Some people tell me they think I’ve found my calling in making masks and I should focus on that and not bother painting but.. I mean.. I enjoy doing it and it’s like therapy for me so I’ve never considered stopping.
BW: Did you goto school for art?
MWJ: No I didn’t and that’s why I can be almost ‘tip-toe-ish’ with selling the masks because there are still faults in them. I’m constantly trying to improve their structural integrity to enable them to be more durable.
BW: I love how universal these masks feel.. but the focus of this show in particular is the African Diaspora. How do you speak to that?
MWJ: I think I would be doing a disservice not to study and respect all cultures in an age where we can look anything up online and order a book for next day delivery. I am definitely trying to open myself to all global influences. I believe we are all connected and I really search for that. I think this show is special because of its focus on the future, what artists from the African Diaspora are up to now and the influences we have on each other. I made these using a base of modern plaster wrap in an effort to approximate similar clay based processes used by African artists of the past.
BW: I thought it was interesting the way Kristen poses the idea of a world ‘without limits’ for Black artists. Do you feel those limitations in the reception of your own work?
MWJ: Being here in New York, my masks are accepted but back home in Virginia they’re not. I would say when I go down south as a Black artist there are limits.. as in Black people there want something that’s very digestible and find my work scary or off-putting because it has nails sticking out of it, etc. I feel like moving to New York has freed me in a lot of ways and allowed me to express myself how I want.
BW: Do you ever feel hemmed in or limited by being identified specifically as a ‘Black artist’ or do you enjoy the sense of community that comes with it?
MWJ: I’m very happy that this work has a place where it feels like it was meant to be. Sometimes I do feel that as a Black artist it can feel like you’re selling your pain.
BW: Where would you like to see your work go next?
MWJ: I'm really into Sci-Fi and I’d like to explore how Black people can re-imagine their past through that lens. I have a book about Japanese samurai armor that I plan to use as a reference to create some full body suits. My main goal would be to be in a museum or really just anywhere that they can be taken care of and preserved. They can be a bit delicate and my apartment is getting pretty full up… and then there’s the cat.
Photo by King Nathan
I commiserate with Mark for a bit about beloved pets wreaking havoc on at-home art projects before letting him get back to the obligatory mingling. I’m one of just a handful of white people at this opening. One of them is wearing a Japanese kimono top and I ponder my own weeaboo tendencies. My eyes had lit up when Mark described his samurai armoring manual and it made me think about what makes us appreciate a culture in the first place. Obviously America’s history in relation to the African Diaspora is a dark one. We fueled the Atlantic slave trade responsible for most of it between the 16th and 19th century and the cultural ramifications of that are undeniably still felt today.
I worry that Kristen's vision of a world without limits for members of the African Diaspora is held back largely by the “othering” that stems from avoiding what makes us uncomfortable. That it is all too easy to celebrate a mysterious and far away culture like Japan while quietly dismissing a large swath of our own. Black people have made incredible contributions to our society in every field and have reached the highest office in the land. Yet, much of the art here still speaks to pain and a lack of inclusion. Why? Don’t answer that yet… Let’s listen.
Mark Wilson Jr. - Follow them on Instagram @markwilson.jr for more.
If art that speaks to race/racism makes you uncomfortable - remember the famous quote: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” - Cesar A. Cruz