Michael Vincent Manalo is a photographer and a photo-manipulator. His work is inspired by the imagined memories of nostalgic and dream-like environments; his works documents their decline into post-apocalyptic and nightmarish creations.
The themes seen on his work revolve around surrealism, magic realism and realism. Most of his work is inspired by melancholy, nostalgic memories, dreamy landscapes, sentimental and warm emotions to dark and brooding atmospheres; weird and nightmarish dreams; medieval fantasy to post-apocalyptic scenes; memories of being away from home and the concept of home; subjective and objective views on society and supernatural and paranormal themes. The works that he creates tries to confront the modern rules and implications of the today’s fast-paced society.
Life has always been a fascination to me. From those inevitable school fights during the elementary years to those wild days of puberty. From the lonesome people in the parks to the 8-inched mohawked people during concerts. From feeling someone else’s warmth to dealing with the blackness within.
There were a lot of emotions – pain, happiness, love and warmth, glory, success, failures, torture, jealousy, excitement, rage, pride. All these converged and met at a common point in time and space and created who I am, what I want to explore and what I hope to achieve.
Vast images come to my mind each day as a result of the radical emotions that fill me in each heartbeat. I try to recreate it as soon as I could by combining photographs and techniques in illustration to recreate those concepts in mind.
I forge these images and try to relate them to the popular tales of human drama. I try to recreate these stories by illustrating my own interpretations of these emotions or sometimes literally creating the picture wherein the emotion can be distinguised.
When I started, I wasn’t aware that I started a quest: so for now, until I decide to stop, I will try to free people’s minds, and allow them to withdraw from reality and give them the opportunity to dig into a wild roller coaster of a vivid dream.
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