Saint James

1708 Gallery Residency 25'

Sculptures: Marcus Fell Out of Ogun’s Mouth on the James River, A Thousand Negro Troops to the Front

In his residence Mark Anthony explored African American migration, labor, and the presence of the Orisha Ogun in the material history of Newport News Shipyard—the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States. His studies include onsite at the Virginia War Museum, The Mariners' Museum and Park, as well as key text Evolving Jim Crow: An Analysis of The Consolidation Movement on the Virginia Peninsula by R. Joshua Snipe and The Lost Story of the Marcus Garvey Movement in Newport News by Jay E. Moore. He also conducted interviews with naval yard workers to probe his research and document their contemporary conditions.

Marcus Fell Out of Ogun’s Mouth on the James River
76" x 55" x 77", 2025

Rooted in the James River, Mark reframes the sinking of the USS Merrimack as a baptism, marking the birth of iron warfare at sea. In the aftermath of the Ironclad battle, Newport News rose as a major industrial hub, while the Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation became a crucial site for deploying soldiers and military equipment. This shift signified a great migration—African American laborers moving from farmland to industrial centers like Newport News—seamlessly aligning with the domain of Ogun, the Yoruba deity of iron and labor. In the artwork, Marcus Fell Out of Ogun's Mouth on the James River, Mark connects Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin syncretism, linking Saint James with Ogun and designating him the mouth of the James River. Simultaneously, he restores historical artifacts tied to Marcus Garvey’s employment at the shipyard, where Garvey raised the first $500 in stock for the Black Star Line.

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A Thousand Negro Troops To The Front
103" x 69" x 81", 2025

In A Thousand Negro Troops to the Front, Mark asks, “Can one man speak for an army?” If so, he will. He suggests that whether or not we acknowledge our divine role in warfare, it endures, fueling imperialism. By mobilizing A Thousand Negro Troops to the Front, Mark Anthony embraces his inheritance, taking a step that he calls his brothers to follow, a dance that reawakens a bond with our ancestors.

Photos courtesy of  David Hale.