Tales of Moonlight Bench with Bowl, 2023

Marcus-Bello began interrogating issues of globalization, production chains, and supply-and-demand dynamics after developing a relationship with a group of autopart casters in Lagos who’d helped repair his personal automobile. Each question he posed—what is a material’s role in society? How does it get here? Who is in charge of its lifecycle?—led back to a cottage industry that has emerged across West Africa to fabricate the parts needed for the second-cycle cars that arrive in the region from the United States and Europe, many of which have fallen prey to the generally-accepted and highly-destructive practice of planned obsolescence. These auotopart facsimiles, constructed in sand-cast aluminum—the quickest, most affordable, and most recyclable material readily available—ensure the life of imported cars, which, in their original country of purchase are often deemed too expensive or difficult to maintain once their manufacturers cease to make the parts necessary for their upkeep.