Big Walls and Windows 2022: Manyi Takor

The annual Big Walls and Windows project brings large scale work by one BA Fine Art student into our public window galleries. We speak to first-year student Manyi Takor, and her approach to this year's commission.

Across two large windows hang 27m² of canvas painted by Manyi. In a public thoroughfare with a never-ending flow of passers-by, the paintings present micro and macro worlds of nature and people.

Upon the announcement of the project, Manyi decided to propose a two-dimensional work, responding to the width and shallowness of the space: “It’s huge but also, there’s no space!” We reflect momentarily on the ‘windowness’ of it: “I’ve been thinking about observation, the exchange, the transition of that space. People constantly moving past,” she says.

Called Hidden Identities, the installation highlights Manyi’s desire to look beyond labels and categories. “Some cultures, beliefs or things that we are, are seen as mutually exclusive when they really aren’t. And that’s why I’m questioning why people feel the need to be different. Yes, each one of us is unique but while your experiences might not match mine directly, we all have the same problems. We’re all happy, we’re all angry, we’re all restricted, we’re all tired. Whether you’re Black or white, fat or skinny, it doesn’t matter.”

Her work stems from lived experience:

To reflect on collectivity, Manyi takes inspiration from the natural world. For example, she includes a honeycomb inside a beehive; it sits on the far end of the canvas as a symbol for simple and efficient structure. The forest and city symbolise the different environments we negotiate, where hidden dangers can exist within structures that look beautiful and organised on the outside.

One side of the installation presents circular paintings articulating the five stages of grief, suggesting a recurring cycle throughout our lifetime.

There’s a compelling friction in Manyi’s work; while it stems from her own unique experience her impulse is towards the universal and commonality of that experience. “Sometime people expect artwork to tell them something,” she explains, “but this is more about asking questions: Who do you think you are? What are your expectations of people? How does that affect you and them?”

The annual project demands a huge amount from one student, not simply in scale but also practicality and planning. Though Manyi’s process harnesses her intuitive mark-making, this work required a balancing act she acknowledges: