In 2000 five men beat Mark Hogancamp outside a bar so severely that he nearly died. After nine days in a coma and 40 days in the hospital, Mark was discharged with little memory of his previous life. Unable to afford therapy, Mark decided to create his own. In his backyard, he built Marwencol (Mark/Wendy/Collen), a one-sixth scale World War II-era town that he populated with dolls representing his friends, family and even his attackers. He used the small dolls and props to redevelop his hand-eye coordination, while he dealt with pyschic wounds from his attack through Marwencol’s many battles and dramas.
In the same vein as Daniel Johnston and Henry Darger, creativity becomes a healing power and a way to negotiate a world that is sometimes too painful to be a part of.
argotandochre.wordpress.com 