Featured Artist: Harley Manifold

Harley Manifold is a Warrnambool based artist who is known for his evocative paintings that explore themes of solitude, identity, and the complex interactions between people and their environments.  His urban and rural landscapes often portray isolated and transitional spaces that are at times hauntingly liminal, highlighting introspective journeys and questioning the nature of human connection.

A devoted advocate of the arts in the local community, Harley is currently working on his biggest passion project: the opening of his own studio and gallery space and a dedicated art residency on an idyllic piece of family land in the Camperdown countryside.  If you live near the Warrnambool or Camperdown area, we highly encourage you to attend Harley's first solo show at Milk Shed Studio's in late November - follow Milk Shed Studio and Harley on Instagram for more details about the event.

As long-time admirers of Harley's work, we were thrilled at the chance to chat with him for an interview.  Join us as we question Harley about Milk Shed Studio, his artistic process, and the inspirations that drive his work.

Hi Harley, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today.  We’d love to hear about your path as an artist and how your creative journey began.  What first inspired you to pursue painting as your chosen medium?
Not the way most would assume. I thought I was going to be an Air Force pilot. In Year 11 I was doing the maths/physics path to be a candidate for it. My grades were great, I was on track, and on the first day of Year 12 I got a call from the Air Force recruiter saying they were happy with my Year 11 results – but I needed an eye test. I knew my eyes were not sharp enough, so I became a visual artist. I’d always enjoyed creating as a kid and through school, so I got lucky that I couldn’t join as a pilot – I L O V E creating. I did join the Army Reserves in the infantry for a year at uni, just to make sure it wasn’t what I wanted. I'm glad I chose art, and much respect to our Defence Force, but it was not a job for me.

Your work often depicts nocturnal, isolated spaces that feel suspended between destinations, physically and emotionally.  There’s a strong sense of transition and introspection.  Can you share what draws you to these themes, and how they reflect your own personal experiences? 
You know when you hear a new piece of music and you feel the need to hear it again? That’s how I find my paintings - I just go by feel. I learned as a very young artist I couldn’t paint to sell – or I couldn’t paint with the thought of selling in my mind. I had to paint what I resonated with. I’m currently writing my artist statement – 7 pages long – so stay tuned for why I’m painting these places…

You’ve previously remarked that the titles of your artworks come from snippets of overheard conversations.  How do these pieces of fragmented dialogue relate to the themes you explore in your artwork, and how do you hope they will influence the viewers’ interpretation?
So many reasons – also coming in the artist statement ahah – essentially I realised as an artist I am not just looking at the world, I am also very much listening, and part of that is also the physical sensation of making art.  There is a special sensation of feedback from the brush crossing the canvas which I love (as opposed to say nails down a blackboard, which is the worst!)

Back to the titles. They are part of the decontextualizing that happens when someone looks at my work – my works are all very personal, and the narratives too. Years ago people would come up to me and say “oh we love your work, we have one at home on the wall!” I’d always ask which and they could never remember the names – for me the titles of the paintings were the context to the painting – the literal key to understanding whatever it I was screaming out into the world via paint: and no one could bloody remember them! 

So I got all existential and self loathing and started taking the piss out of the fact no one could remember – at the same time I was painting urinals: ‘pissers’ – multiple reasons but taking the piss further was one of them. So I just started taking random things I’d overheard along with news titles and using them as my titles. I thought it was funny as some were contextual and meaningful and others were not.

How–bloody–ever, like most things I do it had the opposite effect. Everyone started remembering the titles and not only that, started to have favourites! It really came full circle when I realised that it was all about perspective and that everyone brings their own story to my art, as soon as it’s on the wall it’s no longer really mine. 

So I’ve embraced it, and really started to explore what it means to have differing perspectives on my narratives and the titles as artworks in themselves – I take joy in changing them, depending on how I feel. Some are just the funniest things I’ve heard, some are so serious it hurts – much like my paintings. Context is everything.  

I think the next series of titles will come from people’s biographies in Tinder, Hinge etc. Very interesting stuff!

Last year you announced the opening of your own art studio, artist residency and gallery space called Milk Shed Studio, situated on a beautiful piece of family property on the outskirts of Camperdown.  Can you tell us a bit more about this passion project and how it came to be?
AH! The MSG! (I wanted it to be called the Milk Shed Gallery, partly because MSG is a flavour enhancer and the MCG stadium was close in letters and sport and art have very different funding models).  But it is the MSS because of council permits.

It’s always been a dream of mine to have a large white studio to paint in, show my work and share my mum’s work too – Marion Manifold – who’s a highly respected printmaker in her own right. 

We’re still working on the artist residency side of the project – this is very exciting – but are currently waiting on builders and plumbers (know any in Camperdown?). We have a show opening November 23rd & 24th – which is very, very exciting as this has been my long term plan to do this with mum!

You are obviously passionate about advocating for the arts within the Warrnambool community, as suggested by your volunteer work for local arts initiative, The F Project.  How do you envision the Milk Shed Studio gallery and residency shaping the local arts community?
Warrnambool has one of the best art communities I’ve ever been involved in – actually the best – it feels like home. It’s great to be a part of encouraging artists of all ages to continue on the artistic path. If you add art anywhere – it’s never a bad thing. I hope by creating the artist residency it will not only allow artists the space they need to focus but also a place where they can be inspired by the peace of their surroundings – and from here we aim to have community interactions where the community can come and learn or listen to the artist in residence and gain exposure to new thoughts and ways of doing things.

We’d love to know more about the body of work you’re currently developing.  How does your current work relate or differ to your previous work?
Hard question! I’ve just gone and hung the current body of work from the last 6-12 months in the MSG (Milk Shed Studio). What I find is that art is like a visual journal of the time that has past and the affect that the events in that past have had on me. As a lot of my works require multiple sittings – and a lot I add paint to years later – the chronology is not always clear. However this current work is heading down the road towards petrol stations – literally. Petrol stations are such an interesting and integral part of our current life. For me they are more like relief stations – a place to pull over, have a break, stretch, relieve yourself, refill the tank, check the map and charge off again in the best direction. Forwardish I like to say.

The change in colour is interesting to note –  it's worth a look at how they are changing through my Instagram; it becomes pretty clear that different colours are being introduced and receding.

When approaching a new piece, how do you approach technique, colour and texture to best communicate the mood and meaning you wish to convey?
Mostly I start with a source image, that's the leaping off point – then I dive into the deep end without floaties and try not to swim too hard haha. The first marks on a painting can be the most important, luscious and evocative of the intent. I try very hard to let them be an expression of my feelings – this can often lead to a lot of very un-architecturally sound buildings and the like – again worth checking my Insta to see how I resolve these.

It's from the initial day or so of painting that the resolution happens, oftentimes I will have to mentally come back to the intent of the painting to finish it, hell breaks loose when the intent changes during the painting haha – I always try to be honest and vulnerable to whatever it is I am feeling. The tough work happens when I have to let go of some great mark making that happened early on in the painting for the sake of the painting to be finished and work as a whole – sometimes that means a painting will get turned against the wall for a while and work on something else. 

What advice would you impart to artists who are struggling with perfectionism and analysis paralysis to embrace more risk taking in their creative process?
Don’t! Stop it! Back away and put the brush down meagre human! Hahahahah. That’s half a joke. 

Use a bigger brush, use a way bigger brush than you are comfortable using. Put something between you and the easel so you can’t get too close and have to reach. Use the wrong colour. Mix the colour on the canvas. 

Or – and very seriously – work out what makes you happy painting and do it till it doesn’t – then go out get inspired and do the next thing. Do not paint for anyone else - otherwise you are working for someone else. Painting is about working for yourself – and some days, weeks, months it is work. If you want to work for someone else do it by all means, but for me painting is about the human experience – mine that resonates with others. Imagine if you’ve got an artwork in you that changes someone’s life for the better? I’m very lucky to know already, some of my works have changed peoples lives when I worked with The Black Dog Project.