Curated for FORM
Acclaimed Melbourne-based painter Gian Manik undertook a residency through FORM in the Western Australian Pilbara during April, 2017.
Born and raised in Perth, but based in Melbourne since 2011, Manik was invited to undertake a residency as part of an ongoing focus on re-engaging artists who began their careers in the State prior to moving elsewhere for their professional development. Manik spent 3 weeks based at FORM’s Spinifex Hill Studios, creating new works inspired by the Pilbara’s urban and regional landscapes.
Outcomes of Manik's residency showed at FORM Gallery via the solo exhibition What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk. from June-August, 2017.
Image: What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk. Partial view of installation at FORM Gallery, 2017. Photograph by David Charles Collins, c/o FORM.
As part of his residency, Manik mentored 53 Hedland Senior High School students in drawing and painting techniques, inviting them to work directly on to a 10-meter-long canvas. His own impressions of the Pilbara were then over-painted to create a bold collaborative work.
“I liked the way a section was rolled out, the children sat around and then did their work”, he explains, “and I worked similarly, paying little attention to perspective and orientation, let alone relational aesthetics, so there is little expectation in terms of landscape/story as is expected in most mural work.” The work formed the centrepiece of the resulting exhibition.
Image: Manik working with Hedland Senior High School students in April, 2016. Photograph by Andrew Nicholls, c/o FORM.
ince relocating to Melbourne, Manik’s paintings have come to focus almost exclusively on reflective and mirrored surfaces. What’s your name. It’s a symbol. Don’t talk. therefore represented a new direction in the artist’s practice – having focused on refining a single concept for the past five years, this new site-responsive, collaborative project resulted in a chaotic, layered aesthetic combining diverse mark making and humorous juxtaposition.
'What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk' (detail), Gian Manik, detail of installation at FORM Gallery, 2017. Photograph by David Charles Collins, c/o FORM.
Opening night of What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk. at FORM Gallery. Photograph by Edwin Sitt, c/o FORM.
Opening night of What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk. at FORM Gallery. Photograph by Edwin Sitt, c/o FORM.
Wall installation by Gian Manik at FORM Gallery as part of What's your name. It's a symbol. Don't talk. Photograph by David Charles Collins, c/o FORM.