michael vincent
Manalo
From: Manila, Philippines
Based in: Taichung, Taiwan
Born: 1986
Main Artistic Theme: Photography
An award winning photographer, Manalo focuses on photo-manipulation and installations. His work is inspired by the imagined memories of nostalgic and dream-like environments; which document their decline into post-apocalyptic, nightmarish creations.
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Manalo exhibits internationally.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Manila, Philippines in 1986, Michael lives and is based in Taichung, Taiwan. He is a visual artist who focuses on photography, photo-manipulation and installations. His work is inspired by the imagined memories of nostalgic and dream-like environments; his works documents their decline into post-apocalyptic, nightmarish creations.
Manalo has exhibited in several countries - Australia, England, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Philippines, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, UK and USA. He has won the 2010 1st prize in the Digital Art Category at the Art Museum of Chianciano Terme, Italy and 2011 Best Photography Illustration from The Redmond Digital Arts Festival in Washington, USA, 2015 2nd place in the Secret Art Prize from the Curious Duke Gallery in London and Nominated for the APBF Signature Art Prize of 2014 from the Singapore Art Museum. He was also named as one of 2014 Asia's Top Ten Most Inspiring Visual Artists in Asia by the Top 10 Publications in Malaysia.
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Selected Exhibitions
Memory & Human Emotions
Nostalgic dream like environments
In Michael Vincent Manalo’s work, the subjects are represented through a mix of created and realistic images, playing with the expectations of the viewer and raising questions about the role that human emotions play in memory. The scenes reflect on psychological impulses and on the way they are depicted and fused with everyday reality. His photographs explore the traditional boundaries of visual representation, where the creative powers of the unconscious are unleashed to reveal a different reality.
About the process of creation, Michael said that when he started photo-manipulation he would usually think of a concept first, and sketch it on paper. As he progressed, he became more familiar with Photoshop, and with stock photos. With that, he knew what he wanted to create. He said “I remember creating back then, just by looking at a photo and imagining what could happen in this photo, and my mind flies and I think of the stock photos I need and then I start to create”.