Michael Vincent Manalo

INTERVIEW

Why do you take and create images?

I want to answer this in the simplest way – because I just want to, I feel like it, I have this feeling that I need to take and create and I take images to preserve a memory – yes it’s clichĂ©!

How do you define your photographic/artistic body of work? What subjects do you often explore in your work?

My photo-manipulation work usually touches on surrealism, magic realism, realism and conceptual imagery. Meanwhile, my pure photography work encompasses documental and sometimes fine art images. With photo-manipulation, I often explore memory, nostalgia, and the universality of life while in photography, I often choose nightscapes, people, and street photography.

What motivates your work?

Constant thoughts of the subjects that affect me in my daily life and collective memories of my experiences as a nomad.

What relationship does your work have with reality?

It revolves around the universality of human life; it talks about memories; nostalgia, the state of loneliness; fragility; the longing for home; and melancholy.

For you, what is the purpose of art?

I always see it as a pure form of expressing the self through any medium to talk about a variety of subjects the artist would like to convey, irrelevant of the subjectivity and objectivity of beauty.

How do you want the public to respond to your work? Do you have a particular audience in mind?

I personally think it’s their (the public’s) choice if they like my work or not. I really didn’t have any particular audience in mind.

What is your training? Were you trained as a photographer?

I would like to say I’m self-taught. I try to learn by myself through experimentation, self-help books and online tutorials. When I was growing up, I was usually at home teaching myself how to draw. After graduating from university, I thought of being a photographer but I wouldn’t want to break the bank to buy all that camera gear so I thought I could experiment with Photoshop. Then it started from there. I did however, get a camera eventually as a gift. I learned how to use it, and I continuously try to improve my skills.

How do you define your actual professional situation? What are your expectations?

I’m a guy who uses digital painting, photo-manipulation, photography and graphic design to create projects ranging from album covers, book and magazine covers, commissioned artworks. Recently, I also work with several design studios to conceptualize and to create installations for clients in Taiwan.

It’s hard to live off art. Does this affect you and your work?

I’ve been living off art and design a year after I graduated from university, it was tough during the first few years. For a freelance creative, or mainly a freelancer, you have to have perform a lot of roles, from being a businessman, accountant and down to one of the main roles, the artist.

In your opinion, what is the current state of contemporary photography in the Philippines?

In my opinion, I think the reception towards contemporary photography is getting better although when it comes to collecting artworks, I do still think the preference is still given to traditional fine art.

How do you want contemporary photography to develop in the Philippines?

If it’s possible for it to have the same level of reception or having that kind of big following like in the Western nations, then it would be better, but like many parts of Asia, it would still drag on for some time for it to be on that level.

 

CV

Name: Michael Vincent Manalo

Location: Lives and works in Taichung City, Taiwan

Email: manalo.michaelvincent@gmail.com

Website: www.michaelvincentmanalo.com

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Major in Science, Southeast Asian College, Manila, Philippines, 2007

 

Awards and Recognition:

  • 2015 Photography Category Winner: Secret Art Prize; Curious Duke Gallery; Curious Duke Gallery, Whitecross Street, London, EC1Y 8QP
  • 2015 2nd Place: Secret Art Prize; Curious Duke Gallery; Curious Duke Gallery, Whitecross Street, London, EC1Y 8QP 
  • 2015 Donkey Art Prize Finalist, Verona, Italy
  • 2014 Nomination: APBF Signature Art Prize 2014 – Singapore Art Museum – A National Heritage Board Museum 61 Stamford Road, #02-02 Stamford Court, Singapore
  • 2014 Asia’s Top Ten Most Inspiring Visual Artists in Asia – Top 10 Publications
  • 2011 Redmond Digital Arts Festival – 9931 Willows Rd NE, Redmond, Washington,98052, USA
  • 2010 First prize in the Digital Art category: Chianciano International Award for Digital  and Photographic Art 2010 Art Museum of Chianciano Terme, 280 Viale della Liberta’, 53042 Chianciano Terme (SI), Italia

 

Exhibitions:

  • 2016 “We Could Die Chasing This Feeling” ć‹€çŸŽèȘ ć“ç¶ ćœ’é“æƒłćƒć€§èĄ—(B2) CMP B2 Art Space, Taichung City, Taiwan (solo)
  • 2016 Tokyo International Art Fair; Represented by Kulay-Diwa Art Gallery
  • 2016 Just Before Breathing – Galleri LABR, Roskilde, Denmark (solo)
  • 2015 Art Copenhagen, Center Boulevard 5, 2300 Copenhagen
  • 2015 Taipei Free Art Fair, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 2015 Green Ripples Festival, Taichung City, Taiwan
  • 2015 Kolga Tbilisi Photo  Festival – Karvasla Museum
  • 2015 Urban Stories – Rosso20sette Arte Contemporanea VICOLO DEL GOVERNO VECCHIO (traversa Via del Governo Vecchio ) Roma, Italia
  • 2014 MANILART 2014: International Art Fair, SM Aura Convention Center, Taguig City
  • 2014 Reconstruction of Memory: GALLERIA DUEMILA, 210 Loring St.1300 Pasay City, Philippines (solo)
  • 2014 Recent Works: Rosso20sette Arte Contemporanea VICOLO DEL GOVERNO VECCHIO(traversa Via del Governo Vecchio ) Roma, Italia (solo)
  • 2014 Green Ripples Art Festival ç¶ ćœˆćœˆç”ŸæŽ»è—èĄ“ç„­, Taichung City, Taiwan
  • 2013 IMAGINARIUM: National Parliamentary Library of Georgia 7, Gudiashvili Street, Tbilisi 0107, Georgia (solo)
  • 2013 Punctum Contra Punctum II: International Exhibition of Visual Georgian, National Museum Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery
  • 2013 Vizuali Tiesa II/Visualized Truth II – Ramybes GalerijaVytautas str. 35, Palanga, Lithuania
  • 2013 Punctum Contra Punctum II (American Edition), International Exhibition of Visual Art: Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center
  • 2012 Punctum Contra Punctum: International Exhibition of Visual Art, Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi, Georgia
  • 2012 Imagined Spaces: Envisioned Places – Orchard Windows Gallery, 37 Orchard St. New York, NY. (917) 995-1001
  • 2012 Nakhchivan, the Cradle of Humankind International Art Festival, Naxcivan Park; Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
  • 2012 Ninth Circle of Obsession: Contemporary Art Gallery/ SAVREMENA Galerija, Zrenjanin Suboticeva 1, 23000 Zrenjanin, Serbia
  • 2012 Nomadic Village Traveling Exhibition, A Display of Artwork in Suitcases that travels from England, France, Italy and Austria in a mobile gallery.
  • 2012 Truth Visualized Tiesa, Siauliai Gallery, 245 Vilniaus St, Siauliai, Lithuania
  • 2011 Amarcord: Examining the role of identity and memory in contemporary international artworks Fellini Gallery, Mittenwalder Strasse 6, 10961 Berlin
  • 2011 Redmond Digital Arts Festival 2011:  9931 Willows Rd NE, Redmond, Washington  98052
  • 2011 Capture 2011: End of Year Show The Archtype Gallery; Level 2, Chauvel Cinema Cnr Oxford St and Oatley rd, Paddington, Sydney, Australia
  • 2011 Who’s Laughing Now? Michael Vincent Manalo & Shona Harrison – Blankspace; Greenroom, 54-56 Whitworth Street West, Manchester, MI 5WW
  • 2011 The Light Show: Manila Contemporary WHITESPACE 2314, Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City, Philippines
  • 2010 Bluecanvas Magazine X Launch Event: Exchange LA, 18 Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90014, USA
  • 2010 Chianciano International Exhibition at the Gagliardi Gallery, 509 Kings Road London SW10 0TX
  • 2010 MANILART10: International Art Fair, Hall 4, SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, Philippines
  • 2010 One Hour Photo: International Photography Collective, Katzen Arts Center  Washington, DC, USA
  • 2010 The Ever Increasing Distance to Life: Kulay-Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art – 25 Lopez Avenue, Lopez Village, Sucat, Paranaque City, Metro Manila 1700, Philippines (solo)

 

Artist – in – Residencies Attended:

  • 2015 LAB: CMP Splendor , Taichung City, Taiwan
  • 2014 PIER 2 Art Center, No. 1, Dayong Rd, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, 803
  • 2014 Bamboo Curtain Studio, No.39, Ln. 88, Sec. 2, Zhongzheng E. Rd., Danshui Dist., New Taipei City 251, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
  • 2014è‡Ș由äșșè—èĄ“ć…ŹćŻ“ Freedom Men Art Apartments, No.594, Wuquan Rd., North Dist., Taichung City 404, Taiwan (R.O.C.) 揰侭澂äș”æŹŠè·Ż594號 開攟時
  • 2013 Community Space LITMUS, Second Floor, Wongok-dong 758 danwon-gu, Ansan City, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
  • 2013 Zhuzihu Arts Collective, No. 55, Zhuzihu Rd. Beitou Dist., Taipei City 112, Taiwan
  • 2012 The Nomadic Village: Demesne Mill, Wolsingham, England – A project of ISIS Arts and Klaus Maehring – ISIS Arts, 5 Charlotte Square, Newcaste Upon Tyne, NE1 4XF
  • 2011 The Parlour Arts Laboratory: 340 Plenty Road , Preston Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  • 2011 Gallery Bielska BWA Artist Residence “Beyond the Time”: ul. 3 Maja 11, 43-300 Bielsko-BiaƂa, Poland