Kriti Mehrotra
As a documentary delving into how 8 Rhode Island artists transformed an empty space in Providence Place Mall into a place of comfort living, Netflix’s ‘Secret Mall Apartment’ is gripping. It recounts how the project began as a sort of response to urban gentrification before evolving into an art piece that represented their lives as explorers of creative passions and purpose. James Mercer was among the young individuals involved in this out-of-the-box artwork and thus a significant part of the documentary, as he doesn’t hesitate to share his experiences.
The Apartment Project Enabled James Mercer to Open Up His Life to a Bigger Perspective
As a native of Providence, Rhode Island, well aware of the essence of the local mills and big warehouses, James Mercer was deeply impacted by the gentrification of his tight-knit community. The fact that he once lived in the artist collective Fort Thunder before it was demolished in 2002 also played a role in his decision to be part of the Apartment Project a couple of years later. He was pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design when he was introduced to it, so it was hard for him not to view the piece through a protesting lens.
As for the individual who brought James in, it was his drawing teacher, Michael Townsend, a man he credits with always pushing for collaborative, empathetic, and deeply personal artworks. In fact, through his classes, the Apartment Project, and their collaborations on several Tape Art murals over the ensuing 4 years, the latter pushed him to see how life is art and art is life. He became a sort of inspiration to the young creative, helping him understand that there is no limit to what art can be when it’s done with a clear objective as well as a personal connection. The other artists from the secret space also shaped his way of thinking, so of course, he looks back at that time with pure fondness and still holds onto the key to the home they had built.
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James Mercer is an Artist and Educator, Hoping to Encourage Creativity in Every Sense
It was in 2007 when James earned his Bachelor’s degree in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design, following which he continued to establish a name for himself as an artist. According to his own accounts, he first developed an “obsession” with art when he was just a young boy, which grew throughout his school years before he realized it was his true calling. He thus enrolled at the School of Design, explored all possible creative methods as well as techniques, and then dabbled in a few prior to just finding himself drifting without a real aim. That’s when a friend offered him a room to sublet in New York, so he embraced the opportunity with both hands in the hopes it would help him figure out a path, and it definitely did.
James relocated in 2008, and he has since evolved into an artist specializing in painting, drawing, and animation, with a style characterized as troubled geometries and suburban alienation. In other words, most of his work comprises different or distorted shapes in settings that are as cozy as they are familiar, all the while giving off a feeling to really make you think about the piece and how it imitates life. It’s hence no surprise that he has featured in exhibitions at the Drawing Center, Harlem House Gallery, Meliksetian Briggs, Picture Theory, Pioneer Works, and the Roswell Museum, amongst many others. Most recently, in December 2025, he had a solo exhibition titled Without Thinking at the Sagtikos Art Gallery.
It’s also imperative to note that James has been collaborating with fellow artist Yifan Jiang for a few years now, and their work has been shown at Eyeworks, IFFR, and the Slamdance Festival. Their most recent work together is a short film titled ‘Jason’s Story’ with a total runtime of 29 minutes and 37 seconds – it was completed in 2025, with James serving as an animator, soundperson, and writer. The now New York resident’s other short films include ‘Morris,’ ‘Landfill,’ ‘The Reservoir,’ ‘Two Truths and a Lie,’ and ‘Vacation,’ with the latter two being collaborations with Yifan Jiang too. On a different front, having earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Columbia University in 2020, James has even evolved as an educator with the hope of inspiring the next generation of artists. He currently serves as an Adjunct Faculty member at Drew University, teaching Digital Imaging & Digital Animation, and is a Critic at his Rhode Island alma mater.
