Quantum Digital Art Season 1 Artist Interview: Mercy Thokozane Minah

We sat down with Mercy Thokozane Minah for an artist interview about their life, art work and new project "Press Play"

Quantum: Who have been your biggest artistic influences, and why?

Mercy:

My biggest artistic influences are people whose work, across mediums and genres,
makes me feel more possible. Folks who create from a place that is so close to the
essence of who they are that the distinctiveness of their work is undeniable. The late
Whitney Houston, for example, who sang as though she was raised by an Opera-
singing, church-choir leading mama every time she opened her mouth. Folk-rock
singer-song-writer, Tracy Chapman, who arranges and sings and plays (she plays about
9 instruments and incorporates many of them into her songs often) like the
contemplative, diligent, and thoughtful, but adventurous and playful child, she was
growing up in Cleveland. Authors like Fiona Zedde, whose Black queer-women-centering prose is equally searing and hilarious, and reflects how well travelled, how audacious and curious about life she is. Or Akwaeke Emezi who creates staggeringly brilliant and genre-defying work in prose, in poetry, in lyrical autobiography, film and visual art and reflects the embodied-godliness of their lived experience in every medium. Or Eloghosa Osunde, who cuts through my social media feeds as a shimmering vision of beauty and a constant probing for softness, for the worlds that are often regarded as unseen but reverberate loudly all around us, and whose visual art and prose pierce through you in the same visceral way. Moondsundiamond, a delicate and provocative soul – and fellow Taurus – with a rich inner world of values and opinions and visions whose visual art is every bit as decadent, unafraid, textured, and audacious as he is. Linda Dounia Rebeiz is a sensitive, meticulous visionary, and vivaciously caring person, and whose sensitivity, genius, and bigness of the heart can be felt in every piece she creates, every showcase or exhibition she curates.

Quantum: What was the process of creating the artwork for this collection?

Mercy:

This was one of my more research-intensive collections. The bulk of the work
consisted of me seeking references for how people move in various sports, I did a lot of
close studying of folks bodies in very specific motion, of folks bodies in relation to
their environments. And also a lot of clothing research. I don’t think I’ve ever spent
that much time looking up various brands of sneakers or athleisure and paying
attention to the intricate and often really clever designs. Once I had collected my references for the figures and their movements and swag, the next stage of the work involved researching the various environments they would be in, the layout of a basketball or tennis court, for example, the types of spaces that people skateboard in, what waves look like when surfers catch them, what ocean floors and beaches with volleyball stands look like. The references and research-informed the energy and direction I took for not just each piece, but the different sports as well. I created a folder of 20 initial paintings, containing just the backgrounds that the figures would play in. and once that was done, I circled back, sport-genre by sport-genre and started completing the pieces with my usual search for intimacy and connection and self expression. Another interesting tenet of the process of creating this collection is that there were many paintings that didn’t make the final cut. I would be a significant way along with completed pieces and realize that there was a standard I was creating, in clarity of vision, in courage, and audaciousness, that could be explored further with certain pieces. So I started from scratch with a couple of pieces and kept tweaking existing pieces (I tend to leave my art alone when I’ve declared it is done) until I was able to look at the whole collection and feel proud.

Quantum: Precisely what is it you want to say with this collection, and how do you get your artwork to say that?

Mercy:

Press Play is an extension of the ongoing conversation I am having about my reverence for Black, queer and trans people. My work tends to celebrate specific areas of how we take up space, whether it is our self-expression, connection with other people, or even sexuality and pleasure. I think I realized one day that many of my former partners and crushes, and close friends were people who loved and/or played various kinds of sports. And it felt culturally significant to me, this quietly pervasive part of who we are. How we bond through competition and exertion, rules and rigor, and even just leisure. I tried to create a series that is celebratory and observant, reverent and impressed/impressive and I think the vibrancy, versatility, specificity of the pieces in the series showcase that.

Quantum: Is there a piece that embodies the overall collection, and can you share the story behind it?

Mercy:

I think the piece that maybe captures the essence of what I was trying to communicate through this series is ‘goal’ from the soccer-themed pieces. The triumph, camaraderie, and physical freedom of the figures in the piece speaks directly to the ethos of the collection as a sight of reverence, admiration, and celebration of who my folks are and how we take up space when we play.

Quantum: How did you first encounter NFTs and Cryptoart, and when did it click for you that there was a lot of potential here?

Mercy:

One of the collectors of my art recommended Cryptoart to me, as a space that I could explore without the red tape of traditional art spaces. He felt the combination of the type of work I make, and my politics would be a good fit for what Linda Dounia
Rebeiz sometimes refers to as a ‘brave new world.’ It took about a year for me to get familiar enough with the basic mechanisms of the space before I felt comfortable
minting and trying to find community here. I think I first realized the potential this
space had for me as an artist was when I was invited to be a part of the Black*Rare
exhibition, curated by Linda for Superrare. Some of my most generous collectors found
me through that showcase and people started paying a lot more attention to my work
and what I had to say. There have also been many bright moments of connection and camaraderie that I have experienced and shared with radical builders and creators in the space, such as Missy (@MsQueenEarth), Kamila (@kamilakashflow), Mel (@herbalteagyal), Zing (@Zingfaze), Shawntel (@shawntelco) and my homie Keletso (@keletsovionah). I think the beauty of the space is unearthed to me in layers. There is always so much going on, but I’ve found that laying low, taking my time to find my bearings and find my tribe has allowed me to remain mostly safe and inspired.

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