Sweetheart Party
"2 years ago, Third Man Records commissioned creative engineer Marlos E’van to make a Mural for the upcoming Presidential Election. That moment in time created a spark in the community that is still talked about today. After the election, Third Man also gifted Marlos a Third Man Photo Studio x Retrospekt Polaroid camera to which the artist would take on many travels for the past 2 years documenting life, death, birth, people and places. Somewhere along the journey, Marlos decided 2 bring this collection of experiences back to the people in the form of their new book, SWEETHEART PARTY! This collection of Polaroids includes intimate moments in the artist's life that serve as a way to get closer to Marlos even if you’ve never met them. Highly magnetic, SWEETHEART PARTY is just that, a party; one where all kinds of emotions are in the room at the same time. SWEETHEART PARTY puts you in different worlds without leaving your couch; you dont have 2 have FOMO because we literally put you in the experience."
Author:
Marlos E’Van
Marlos E’van, Nashville based artist. E’van interweaves different mediums such as painting, performance, and filmmaking to create worlds in which their art recollects black histories: joy, pain, celebration, sorrow, and complex emotions from reenacted scenes of American histories. Marlos’ work is also inspired by cult films such as Robocop, Total Recall, and Terminator; which all blend fiction set alongside backdrops of dystopian landscapes and alternative realities. A subtle vernacular in expression has caught recognition from such publications such as Hyperallergic and Native Magazine. In addition to their work as an artist, E’van co-founded/co-designs M-SPAR, McGruder Social Practice Artist Residency out of the McGruder Center in North Nashville. Working as an educator in a hard-hit redlined Nashville neighborhood, E’van actively listens to their pupils, gathering stories that also inform E’van’s paintings. Their own life creates first-person narratives in paintings targeting marginalization, stemming from a queer black history rooted in his home state of Mississippi. Marlos E’van’s work is included in multiple Southern collections, and has been shown in VA, TN, GA, and NY. They have been awarded the Mellon Foundation for McGruder, and the Metro Arts Thrive grant. Marlos received their B.F.A. from Watkins College of Art, Nashville, TN. They are also represented by Elijah Wheat Showroom in NYC and recent recipient of the Gener8tor art grant.
