Mark Hogancam suffered severe brain trauma after being assaulted outside of a bar. His brain was o badly damaged that he lost much of his memory including the ability to write, walk and speak. After coming out of his coma, Mark relearned much of his abilities but was still deeply emotionally scarred. He was discharged after his medical insurance refused to pay any more and went back home. There he found bound ‘drunk journals’ that told the tale of an angry alcoholic. Trying to make sense of his life, he created a fictional Belgian town called Marwencol and populated it with WWII era dolls. He named one after himself, another after his mother and more based on almost everyone he knew.
The story of Marwencol was documented in stunning photographs. Mark earned acclaim for his photography which is deeply moving and spellbinding in its other-worldliness. The documentary Marwencol documents Mark’s story from a victim into a celebrated artist, but what about the toy version of Mark who struggles against Nazi soldiers, is loved by many beautiful women and uses a time machine built from an old DVD player to adjust reality?
Marwencol is currently streaming on Netflix and I highly recommend it.
You can see more of Mark Hogancam’s work here at his site: http://www.marwencol.com/
