Meet Chi (Mars) Azinge of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chi (Mars) Azinge.

Hi Chi (Mars), thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve never been good with my words– only when you give me time to think about them. Nothing really lived in my head except for images, some pleasant, others haunting. Concepts always came to life in front of me before I could even understand them myself. Before I knew it, I was creating pieces titled ‘Don’t be afraid to get lost,’ and ‘Anywhere can be a temporary escape’ And before I even stepped out of the safety and comfort of my own world and into real predicaments, conflicts about identity and perception grew into the creation of my own brand ‘The Groovy Crew,’ which embraced the freakish and distorted things just didn’t quite make sense about each of us. This was a huge feat for me at the time, considering I am emerging from years of internalized disdain for myself. I still hold space for that part of me because they did not know their desire for self love would create a transportable universe that invoked viewers to utter phrases such as “I want to live here,” or “This is where I want to be”. At just 18 years old, there I was, on the jumbotron, in a room filled with thousands of people from all around the globe, interested in what I was about to say next.
‘The Groovy Crew’ has since switched gears, as the mission goes far beyond running an online storefront. I’m now spending time doing research on topics that dig deep– centered around my African roots, my queerness, my sacred practices, and what spirituality means to me in these contexts. I’m also spending time with my community, as I have been blessed to cross paths with some of the most amazing individuals. Those people you meet that serve as indicators that you’re on the right path.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road up until this point has been rough and winding, with constant changes in elevation. One moment, I am on top of the world looking down at the mountain slopes and river bends, and the next moment I’ve swerved off the road and now I’m underwater learning how to swim. I don’t look at any part of the journey as being better than others, but just as part of the ongoing journey that is my life. I’m always asking myself, “What can I do here?” Recently, Northern California called me back, as it has many times before– except the reason I came (for work) didn’t end up working out. So I had to reassess my situation, gather my resources, take the ‘loss’ as a blessing and keep it pushing. I will say that the community I come from is what uplifts me when I am at these low points, and is where I can pull energy from when I feel like I am at a loss.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Right now, painting is my main focus. I don’t usually have a main focus, as I am usually doing 17 different things at once, but I am preparing for a solo show in January, so I spend my days working overtime in my home studio. If I’m not painting, I’m making experimental beats, animation shorts, and shooting outdoor subjects like nature and city life. I consider myself like a spider, and my hobbies are the web I’m spinning. I want the world building to exist on this plane as well as the one in my head. If you come to my second solo show ‘The Year of Mars’ happening this January, you will see what I mean. I’d say gearing up for this show has been fruitful and rewarding for me already as I’m following up the first solo show I had in 2023, “Fruits of my Labor” which was an inviting experience that dissected my life in relation to fruit. With eating fruit, of course we must eat them before they go bad, or repurpose them– like making banana bread from brown bananas, or how rotted oranges fall off of the orange tree, returning back to the earth to enrich the soil. One thing I love the most about curating shows is having a solid concept, and how it challenges me to create a seamless display with not only art, but words, soundtracks, and atmosphere.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
So I’ve been talking obscurely about ‘ the mission,’ ‘the journey’ and ‘fostering community’ and the elusiveness is not intentional. I’m still very much on this excursion. Letting the universe guide me places and taking in what I can, learning from the people I come across and the spaces I inhabit. I want to gather all of the knowledge I can, and get as educated as possible, so I can eventually cultivate a space where the basis is the liberation of marginalized peoples through our own self expressions. We live in a stifling, confining world full of social constraints and silly rules that tell you who you can and cannot love, and who our enemies are supposed to be. The resistance happens through loving one another, and nurturing our ingenuity by making space for it. I love gathering to have art days, spin on the decks, jam out, dance the night away, throw some paint around, and my goal is to create a space where this is all accessible to everyone, and not just seen as a ‘luxury’ or ‘ side hobby.’ I want it to be especially accessible for those who don’t have immediate access, marginalized communities– for us, and by us. I think of spaces like Hood Rave and Black Bass Collective in Los Angeles, and The Maker’s Hub in Compton when I am envisioning this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://childinmars.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/childinmars
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@childinmars
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/childinmars
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@childinmars