Lilianna Manahan goes for form and ‘Funktion’
MANILA, Philippines - Leave it to Lilianna Manahan to come up with a collection called “Funktion,” her “exhibit of useful things” that includes furniture, lighting, toys, home accessories and objets. The exhibit opens tomorrow at AC+632 in Greenbelt.
Her prodigious imagination was evident even from an early age when she would make sketches of animals that ranged from the prehistoric to fantastical ones that she just had to create because there were none in existence. While studying fine arts and industrial design at Central St. Martins in London, even her fashion had to be custom-made according to her wild musings. Not settling for the ruffles which were à la mode then, she would create hand-painted and beaded skirts that would tell the stories that ran in her mind.
Spotting an ostrich egg given to her mother, the surface designer Tats Manahan, Lilianna began to paint an “Arabian Nights” fantasy on her newfound blank canvas. She started doing a few more which led to bespoke commissions from friends and family and eventually an exhibit titled “Omelette” in 2010. Each of the dozen or so intricately painted eggs seemed to have a life of its own, with images and narratives that only the artist could conjure: “Cliffhangers” had little people climbing up noses, teeth and ears while in “Monkey See, Monkey Do” simians pranced on top of turbaned Moors’ heads. Tumultuous waves splashed across shell moldings in “Poker Pirates” and a pink horned mythical creature of “Lesson 12” lorded it over flowers and foliage on gold leaf. Not to be overlooked was her exhibit design where each egg was positioned on a block pedestal with mirrors to reflect the back of the eggs. Every detail had to be seen, after all, lovingly crafted as each one was. Aside from the hand-painting, there were embossed moldings, appliqués and carved-out niches with little surprises. Some of the pieces were even nesting on grass with little green soldiers aiming their rifles at those hapless eggs. “Omelette” was a huge success, with Lilianna doing custom-orders after the exhibit sold out. But the artist had other things in mind and other challenges to tackle so she had to move on from this “egg” phase.
Joining a Vitra workshop in France conducted by Italian architect and designer Fabio Novembre, she discovered a new world of possibilities in the field of industrial design. Back in the Philippines, she naturally chose to work at the Cebu atelier of renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue where she found a wealth of materials and ideas. Living away from home and family, this was a turning point for her, working with one of the best in the industry. She had to develop a certain discipline and hone her skills working with three dimensions in different materials and marrying form with function. One of her designs was a dog bed that made it to the Maison & Objet show in Paris where top retailers, architects and interior designers gather to select the best furniture and accessories from around the world. Manahan’s bed was shaped like a giant slipper, “a lola’s corcho,” according to her, made of versatile plastic fibers and leather upholstery. Inspired by Frank Gehry and her Lhasa Apsos who loved nibbling slippers, they were witty and modern, catching the eye of many design enthusiasts.
In 2012, as one of the designers of HIVE under the creative direction of Cobonpue, Lilianna created “Float,” another astonishing piece that was as much sculpture as it was a functional lamp. Made of ashwood veneer, a disc containing the light source appears to hover above a slightly flaring tubular base, casting an otherworldly halo around the fixture, almost like that which a UFO would cast right before landing.
For “Funktion,” Lilianna embarks on a new phase tackling a whole new set of challenges. “But it’s a gleeful challenge,” the designer qualifies in her characteristic lighthearted manner, “where I have to make a form fit into a function or vice versa. It is at this point of the puzzle where I test myself in making what seems complex, sensible. I try not to constrain myself by making a traditional shape conform to a traditional function. On the contrary, the farther removed an object is from its original function, all the better the challenge.”
Her “Fishing Floor Lamp” may bring to mind the masculine geometrics and spatial expressions of El Lissitzky, the multi-hyphenate artist and designer of the Russian avant-garde which is one of her inspirations, but only Lilianna would think of fashioning a pendulum lamp like a fishing rod with the light disc as bait. Her “Asterisk” table lamp is imbued with as much whimsy, bringing a beloved typographical symbol to life as a friendly companion in the dark.
The artist’s brass bookends are another curiosity, looking at first like strange animal figures from some ancient civilization but which, upon closer inspection, turn out to be chickens that actually make you smile. Her childhood fascination with animals is also apparent in “Snoot,” an animal of undetermined species on wheels, upholstered in fabric and leather. The toy came to fruition as she spent hours playing with her nephew and niece.
Architectural elements, design patterns, textures, colors and shapes also have a big influence on her design process. As a child, she would imbibe these from her parents who are both in the arts. Her father, the director Johnny Manahan, studied art history and architecture and in fact designed their home. Lilianna would always be in the workshop of her mother Tats, who studied surface design, decoration and restoration in Italy.
Walking around Old Manila, urban architectural details caught her eye and these would later influence the design of the “Fold” and “Stump” stools that feature an Escher-like play of geometrics. For upholstery, she worked with weavers from Ilocos Sur, experimenting with new colors and proportions to give the traditional abel a reboot that works perfectly with the shapes of her furniture.
She is also working with craftsmen in Cebu and Antipolo where she is exposed to different materials and techniques. “Fooling around with materials,” she says of her experimentations with shapes, colors and textures, “I work at it until I am able to make the material talk back at me.” It has indeed been quite an adventure for the young designer, with a lot of interesting discoveries along the way. For now, she has not limited herself to mastering just one type of material because “as I discover new ones and rediscover the old, my mind once more starts to wander.”
Lilianna Manahan’s “Funktion” is on view until Nov. 14 at AC+632, 2/F Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati. For inquiries, call 758-2564 or e-mail ac632@pldtdsl.net.
