Consequence Visual Art Editor, April Sunami: How do you grapple with themes of conflict, violence, and/or war in your work? Are there any specific historical events or themes that inspire you?
Marcus Blackwell: I think of war primarily in terms of internal conflict or turmoil because, in truth, that is where all human violence and war begin: within ourselves. It’s unresolved and difficult thoughts and feelings that plague our human experience which later manifest in physical events and expressions of violence.
In The Land of Trouble, Temptation is King | digital illustration | June 2024
AS: Are there any recurring motifs or symbols in your work that carry meaning?
MB: As a self-described Afrofuturist, my work is an attempt to depict images that focus on the inner conflict of my own Black American experience. By alluding to past events that have shaped Black American identity as a whole, my aim is to conjure images that interrogate ideas of this identity in the hopes of predicting and circumventing how they will shape and inform future ideas of Black American identity.
Skeptischism of Desire | mixed media on canvas | February 2024
AS: What role do you think artists have in portraying work that deals in themes of geopolitical conflict and war? Is art making advocacy? Does it advance a certain narrative?
MB: Art is seeing. Art is expression. Art is seeing the need for human expression. Every human being has a crucial need to express their individual truth and artists are called to the task of encouraging that need.
SOUR Series: Threat | digital illustration | March 2023
AS: Do you have any personal connection to war and conflict? Have you or any of your relatives veterans of war or served in the military?
MB: I do not have a personal connection to war. But I certainly have personal connections to inner and outer conflict. We humans are all fighting inner wars within ourselves that often set the stage for the outer wars we fight with one another.
The Protest | acrylic on paper | April 2020
AS: What do you hope viewers take away from seeing your work?
MB: My hope for viewers experiencing my work is for them to allow themselves the permission to contemplate the reality of their own experiences. Introspection is key to the ability to express and when an individual is empowered with the means of their expression, they are one step away from dealing with the conflicts that plague us as a species.
Marcus Blackwell
Marcus P. Blackwell is a self-taught mixed media artist and digital illustrator based in Columbus, OH. His works focuses on themes of Afrofuturism, dreams, folklore and mythology, and social commentary. He has no poker face.
