Where are you phone make a noise, 2024

Initially inspired after returning from Hong Kong to Torquay and feeling isolated and alone after being amid such a frenzy of life in Asia, the last 12 months of paintings document a move to the country – and finding a calmer pace of living. Unintentionally, the figures have left the paintings in the recent nocturnal paintings of Warrnambool – Manifold’s new home. There is a quiet calm that emanates from the dimly lit landscapes. The Protagonist is no longer the centre of attention. The titles of the current paintings come from conversations overheard by Manifold while walking in public being inspired. The images themselves could be seen from an everyday walk to and from work, a glimpse down a lane way, a glance over a shoulder. They are the everyday moments that most often don’t take our notice. The every day becomes immortalised in paint, small intimate shrines to the place and its inhabitants. It’s quite likely that people might recognise themselves in these paintings or the overheard conversations as they are the people that Manifold encountered while exploring.

Harley Manifold was born in Camperdown, Victoria, in 1982. In 2003, he completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Deakin University in Warrnambool. He then went on to complete his Honours in Fine Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts as the only non-alumni in his year. He has been included in numerous Art prizes and group exhibitions. On three occasions, he has been a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (2015, 2017 & 2021) as well as the Salon Des Refuses of the Archibald and Wynne Prize (2016, 2019, 2021 & 2024). And most recently, The Darling Portrait Prize.