For the artist's fourth solo exhibit, Lilianna Manahan finds power in the mundane.
Lilianna Manahan has embraced the power of observation in order to create her new collection. Known as an industrial and product designer, she is at the core, an artist. She recently launched her latest exhibition in Modeka Art Gallery, titled, Unlimited. Lilianna explains that the concept behind it has been something she has been thinking over for the past few years. “I wanted to choose a material and use it in different applications. I saw that this was a good opportunity to try it out” she says.
What she zeroed in on was metal because it’s been a material she’s loved for quite some time. In Unlimited you will see a variety of art forms: from drawing, the use of metal leaf on paper, sculptural forms, to jewellery and wearable art. Lilianna’s consistent use of metal and its manipulation into unique works is symbolic of the shows name, Unlimited. “The different forms of metal came in metal leaf (thin and flat), which could be applied to paper; black iron for the light sculptures; and silver in casted, sheet and wire form for the jewellery” she elaborates.
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The inspiration behind each piece and the overall exhibition was the simple yet potent idea of creation. “I have always been interested in creation, but particularly that split second point in time where everything is still, unformed in darkness, and when God calls everything out into light to become whole. Genesis 1:1-2). I've tried to imagine the kind of energy just waiting to burst out,” Lilianna shares.
With that, her mind ran free and these fresh, imaginative designs were born. To her, this powerful energy exists in the everyday. Through her artistic process, observing surroundings throughout this lockdown was paramount. Lilianna noticed that there truly is strength in what we have dubbed as the mundane, which is why she made this a motif that carries through in Unlimited.
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