A NEW Fremantle exhibition features an epic collaboration between visual artist Gian Manik and 250 pupils from local primary schools.
Reflecting on nature and the environment, pupils did drawings and paintings of their immediate surroundings.
Manik then added his own take, creating a fascinating mix of intergenerational styles and colours.
The pupils used acrylic paints, while Manik used oils, adding to the contrast.
“There will be nine large-scale works hung in a space in the Vessel Naval Store,” he says.
“And yeah, I guess there’s a democracy between them.
“I think walking into the space, they do read individually, but they’ll also read as a large installation or a total environment.”
• Regenerative Strategies is a collaboration between artist Gian Manik (above) and pupils from eight local primary schools including East Fremantle (below).
Eight primary schools participated including North Fremantle, East Fremantle, White Gum Valley, Beaconsfield and Our Lady of Fatima.
Manik grew up in Perth, but now lives in Melbourne, where he works as a visual artist.
He says his Vessel exhibition, Regenerative Strategies, is aspirational and hints at a brighter future.
“I think there’s facets of Perth that are positive, which I like to focus on,” he says.
“I think that’s what this exhibition ties back to, because it’s about having a generational pull as an outlook.
“One which is looking towards a more positive, regenerative future.”
Manik is probably best known for his stunning figurative oil paintings, but his canon of work is diverse with a mix of styles and subject matters.
“I think for me it’s important to have that sort of variety because then, hopefully the work comes across as more meaningful and lived as opposed to sort of repetitive and pushed out for a particular agenda,” he says.
Regenerative Strategies marks the launch of the debut exhibition season at Vessel, a not-for-profit contemporary arts organisation at The Naval Store.
Vessel is also launching its debut artist-in-residence programme with Amanda Bell, a First Nations artist who works across several mediums.
“I seek to engage with others by telling stories in a way that is ‘right way’ for me as an Aboriginal person and artist, and to make a contribution to making spaces culturally safe in the arts and beyond,” Bell says.
The residency space, designed by Ren Tapely, uses sustainable construction practices with reused, recycled and low-carbon materials. Bell’s eight-week paid residency runs from June 21 to August 3.
Vessel aims to represent emerging and experimental practices across all art forms.
Regenerative Strategies is on June 28 to August 10 at Vessel, 141 Queen Victoria Street in Fremantle. Opening night is Friday June 27 from 6pm-10pm. For more info see vesselcontemporary.org.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK