The Torpedo Factory Art Center presents the work of artists Edgar Endress and Marly McFly for our Winter Seasonal Art Installations. The Winter Seasonal Art Installations exhibition was curated by Jaynelle C. Hazard, who is the Director of Exhibitions at the Workhouse Art Center. The seasonal art installations are done to activate public space for visitors with site-specific and immersive public art. We rotate exhibitions throughout the year to keep the artwork fresh and constantly evolving.
Curator Jaynelle C. Hazard writes, “Centered around the work of two local artists, the Torpedo Factory’s Winter Seasonal Installations respond to the social and cultural state of America during a time of disorder. Each installation highlights the individual voices and experiences of minorities within a consistent concept of searching; searching for asylum, searching for spirituality, searching for healing and searching for the dream.”
On View on the 3rd Smoke Stack:
Marly McFly, “Keep Dreaming,” 2018, Acrylic, Collage.
Keep Dreaming
Marly McFly
Collage, Acrylic
Keep Dreaming depicts a young girl of color finding her way in a world filled with a multitude of direction and influence. Marly McFly offers a fresh perspective through the skillful layering of ripped vintage comic books, newspapers and magazine ads creating a dream-like, Lichtenstein crossed with Murakami inspired, multi-dimensional environment. Scenes of street art, nostalgic animations and pop culture produce an abstracted facade with hidden messages encouraging the viewer to continue to aspire. Keep Dreaming in whole feels similar to a societal map in which minorities must navigate carefully, culturally assimilate and simultaneously be seen.
This piece was curated by Jaynelle C. Hazard in partnership with Ackshun Jackson.
Edgar Endress, “Things That We Lost”, 2018. Video Installation.
On View in the Grand Hall South:
Things That We Lost
Edgar Endress
Video Installation
Things That We Lost is a series of indoor scenes replicating a traditional, vintage American home. The worn hardwood floors, fully-papered floral walls and a wooden chair in its old fashion create an impression of remembrance, yet the space uninhabited feels desolate. The reason for the ignition of the fire is unclear evoking a sense of divide and segregation. Alongside images of Jesus Christ there are old world framed photos of Anima Sola, a woman folk religion figure rooted in Roman Catholic tradition, depicting a soul eternally burning but never consumed. A great deal of uncertainty is present in the work and hints toward being in a place of penitence in perpetuity.
Edgar Endress, “From a Vow Made”, 2018.
From the Vow Made / Part of the Red Bird Project
Edgar Endress
Reproduction of Woodcut Prints
In From the Vow Made, Edgar Endress addresses the immigration story. Ex-voto paintings, figurines and objects used as sacrificial donations to deities were sketched on cutting board, transferred and digitally recreated. The figures are wrapped in first aid materials with images extracted directly from safety manuals. Accompanying the bandaged figures are prayers to Santo Toribo, a deceased Roman Catholic priest and Mexican martyr, as immigrants prepare to cross the border to the United States. There is an atmosphere of healing as the work shares the pleas for safe passage from families traveling who will face difficulty, disease and suffering. The symbol of the red bird placed throughout the installation represents migration in both individuals and groups. While the banner of the ex-voto figures examine challenges, the red bird actualizes the future.
About the Artists
Edgar Endress is a George Mason University assistant professor teaching new media and public art. Born in Chile, he has exhibited extensively throughout the Americas, most recently in Museum of Contemporary Art MACBA Barcelona, Spain at the Land Art Biennial in Mongolia, and in Pacific Time at the Getty Museum. In 2015, in association with Provisions, he initiated the Floating Lab Collective, a team of interdisciplinary artists who deploy innovative art projects in collaboration with urban communities. His work focuses on syncretism in the Andes, displacement in the Caribbean, and mobile art-making practices. He received his MFA in Video Art from Syracuse University. He has received numerous grants and fellowships, including from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the NEA and the Creative Capital Fund.
“With my research, I attempt to develop a platform to question notions of representation and forms of dominance and resistance through the methodology of art making. In my work, I integrate aspects of contemporary critical discussion about the art practice, particularly with non-western manifestations that includes popular culture, carnival, and indigenous perspectives and postcolonial theory. In these contexts, intervention in a public space is central to engage with these ideas of representation, participation and inclusion of community.”
– Edgar Endress
Marly McFly, or Marlon Diggs, is a self-taught artist from Newport New, VA. Heavily influenced by artists Roy Lichtenstein and Kaws, he started to pull inspiration from old comic books and newspapers. Marlon began experimenting with re-arranging bright bold colors and patterns on his graphic pop artworks until he found success with his current body of works. Common themes throughout his work consist of money, fashion and love. Marly’s inspiration for every painting starts with ripping up old comic books, newspapers and magazine ads and then loosely rearranging the pieces until they tell a story. He then transforms his ideas with acrylic paint on canvas, and rather than reproducing the imagery, he documents bits and pieces of pop culture in a critically acclaimed and creative new direction. He is currently represented by Art Space Warehouse on Los Angeles, CA, Art Life Gallery in Saint-Raphaël, France, and the New York Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
“I am an self-taught artist from Newport News, VA. I began to pursue art as a child drawing everything from cartoons, comics, action figures and athletes. My inner thoughts and my experiences are captured through layers of bright bold colors and patterns coupled with images from my childhood which are utilized to express myself. I consider my art a mix of pop and street art. I draw influences from my surroundings and try to incorporate the ever changing world of pop culture into my artwork. My intention as an artist is to continue to grow and use my art as my ticket to see the world. My artistic development continues to grow with each concept placed on the canvas. By visiting my site you have a front row seat. Come grow with me. Welcome to my world, viewed through my eyes, the Artist.”
– Marly McFly
About the Curator
Jaynelle C. Hazard develops, implements and oversees progressive, contemporary programming initiatives in the main gallery spaces at Workhouse Arts Center. In her brief time with the organization, she has implemented over 30 exhibitions with blockbuster shows including: Imagination is the Medium – an exhibit highlighting the works of Jim Henson’s original illustrator, Guy Gilchrist and puppeteer, Bill Diamond; and Compounds Not Required, – a group show co-curated with Tiffany Williams from Art in Embassies exploring works of six artists and the origin of metals back to the periodic table.
In previous roles, she has supported various art programs and worked with some of the most celebrated artworks through her experience in managing the corporate contemporary art collection at UBS, the Union Bank of Switzerland, and via her work at Blank Projects, contemporary art gallery in Cape Town, South Africa. Significant milestones throughout Hazard’s career include curating lounge installations at Art Basel Miami Beach, administering the production and launch of the publication UBS Art Collection: To Art its Freedom published by Hatje Cantz and in supporting the transition of a historical, promised gift to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Jaynelle Hazard recently relocated to Washington from New York where she earned a Master of Arts degree at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Hazard is committed to being an ambassador of cultural heritage and looks forward to continuing the development of rich, inspirational experiences in the community locally and globally.
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