Nina Mankin is a mixed-media London based artist whose work delves into the magic and uncanny realm of fairy tales, psychology and dreams.

She works within the medium of sculptural installation, print and collage, which weave together to form unusual and intricate visual stories. 

Her practice explores creating ‘a sense of place’ and broadly falls under two categories:

The first is autobiographical and dream-like; the second presents site-specific works in response to particular places such as domestic dwellings or derelict buildings. 

 

Collecting found objects & images is at the core of the work. Fascinated by the mysterious sense of presence which can be evoked by the judicious juxtaposition of objects: their historical and emotional resonances, and the displacement of the everyday, becomes rich with story.

 

Nina’s choice to re-use discarded and forgotten materials is a deliberate response to the throwaway society which consumes us. It is an attempt to imbue what has been abandoned and labelled as useless with a renewed beauty and meaning.

Through a rich tapestry of symbolism, colour, texture, characterisation and distortion in scale, she instils new life into these objects and images.

 

There is at once a familiar and playful quality to Nina’s work but beneath the surface run deeper adult themes that confront us with a disquieting sense of unease and uncertainty.

Fear, loss, desire, angst and a tension between fact and fantasy are played out.

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Nina’s work inquires into the possible after effects of what we can so unconsciously cast aside in our lives and how such insouciance can pose questions and at times, return to haunt us...