"Every boy is a king" artist Mazola Marcnou talks about growing up and continuing to dream.

“Every boy is a king, I was a king too”.

This is a meaningful phrase for young Brazilian boys. Part of a famous and delightful song to listen to, it is usually mentioned when we talk about promising, special boys. This is the case of Mazola Marcnou, someone I can't stop thinking about when remembering this verse, because he is the face of what Brazilians call a “ king boy” and when I talked with him, I was sure that I didn't remember this song because of chance. It is a great pleasure to introduce to you, this artist who carries with him the essence of someone who still has a lot to say to anyone interested in listening. As the song that opens this presentation says, “boys dream too much, boys dream of things that we grow up and never see” but, what happens when we grow up and never stop dreaming? That's what you're about to discover on RED-EYE. Meet Mazola Marcnou, a one of a kind, elegant and sincere person but above all, a king boy who never stopped dreaming. Keep that name.

You’re an artist, son of an artist and on top of that, you come from a place that has “art” in its name. If some people are born in a “gold's cradle”, you were certainly born in an “art’s cradle”. Who is Marcelo and how did he and Mazola meet halfway?

I tend to think that Mazola Marcnou was responsible for saving my life in many ways... I was a very introverted boy, I didn't have many friends, I was always talking to myself, I wasn't a conventional boy and this generated a certain strangeness on the part of other teenagers lol. So, most of the time my only colleagues were paper and pencil and with that i kept drawing! I invested many school hours in these drawings, it was the only thing i liked to do or that aroused a great interest in me, the school had a period of soiree and cultural events, this was the only time when i could show my work to the whole school and people liked my work and, I felt welcomed at those times, it was a very good feeling, caused by something I loved doing. So I thought to myself: “why not take this into my life?” and like a superhero, Mazola Marcnou was born.

I was only 14 years old when I decided I was going to make a living from art.

Your work is pure realism, but we know that wasn't always like this. Tell us a little about the process of building and developing your art. Did you choose realism or did realism choosed you?

I went through a ton of different styles until I settled on Realism!

I went through letters, characters, abstract and these styles were cool, but I didn't get excited about any of them to create my identity. Realism was always something that didn't even cross my mind to execute, I thought it was very good, but I imagined I wouldn't have the ability to perform until I tried and realized that I was very bad at it lol. But realism had something that made me want to practice it... perseverance. Your extremely difficult technique brought me self-knowledge and a desire to see how far I could go.

Realism showed me evolution and patience for everything.

Speaking of realism, when I look at your works, I can easily see them transforming into game and animation characters. In fact, sometimes I have the impression that at any moment your drawings could come off the screen and a futuristic Morgan Freeman would start talking about Black Awareness Day in the middle of the room. I would like to know if there are projects to make this happen. Do you have plans for the Metaverse, for example?

Yes, I dream about the day I'll be able to do something like creating an entire reality where you can be immersed not only with the visual scene, but also with the concept of that universe. Creating entire realities would be a dream for me, but these things are still a bit far from my current reality.

The influence of games and a certain flirtation with the future in your work is noticeable. In 2021, you participated in a project called “NFT House”, which invited some artists to create works that would be digitized and converted into crypto art, on the premises of a house that would be demolished. I would like to know about this experience and if you intend to continue with the format. What are your aspirations for the future in relation to the ways of producing and selling art?

I am always open to new experiences as an artist, it would be hypocritical of me not to try new things, especially when it comes to new tools to create art. NFT House was a beautiful project with an absurd proposal, involving technology which is something I really like and graffiti which is my life. I remember that when I received the invitation I was super excited and agreed straight away, I still don't have any plans to turn my work into Crypto, but I am always open to projects with this purpose.

Mazola, your first solo exhibition took place in April 2022 and that was very far from home. How did you end up in Paris?

You know, sometimes I feel like I fought my whole life just to have that moment. I already think a solo exhibition is a lot, now the first solo exhibition and in Paris, it was really absurd, there was a gallery that had been keeping an eye on me for a few years, we always talked and everything, until one day this invitation came and it was one of the best things I've ever worked on. It took 2 years of planning, it all happened thanks to the Notorious Brand gallery, who believed in my work

What I found strangest in all of this was the fact that a guy on the other side of the world believed and invested in my work, and people in my own city sued me for making art in a public space! How to understand? Anyway, to this day I still can't believe I managed to exhibit in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

ULTIMATE VAN GOGH by Mazola Marcnou photographed by @b9filmes

We know that things for black and lower-class artists are not easy in Brazil, but that the last government drastically worsened their lives in terms of opportunities and access, taking everything away from a population that already had almost nothing. What has the struggle been like “from the bridge to here” and, is there hope for the artist in the “government of dating”?

I'm a very skeptical guy when it comes to politics in general, I listen but generally don't believe it. All of this is due to the fact that my run and that of several other artists are always independent and no matter what party is there, I know that this help or assistance never comes and that is normal here... things have always been difficult in this environment and i already knew that when i joined but, i am proud to say that if things are better today it is the pure result of arduous work so, regardless of party A or B, the stop will always be hard.

Finally, what would you say to those who are still afraid to allow themselves to dream about art?

I can't go into this and lie, things are difficult and the beginning is the best and worst part. You will never feel full, your mental health will almost never be the best and in many moments you will question whether it's all worth it and in my opinion it is.

I'm 25 years old and I've done things that my parents never dreamed of seeing. I've been to places that if I had a regular job I would never have seen, I've met incredible people, I've had incredible experiences.

I've done so much that sometimes, I even forget to be grateful for all of it. The reality is that living on art is glory and pain, and I wouldn't trade it for anything so, if you want to live on art just go ahead, do your best regardless of what people say and, always keep in mind that you are no longer the same person you were yesterday.

Article by @lorrainecruzes

Image courtesy of @mazola.marcnou

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