Interview with Mary Manchin — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

I create beautiful macabre pieces to make you rethink the past and how it is perceived. Almost all of my photos are original images from the early 1900s that I collect from estate sales and oddity shops around Los Angeles. I scans my found photos to preserve the original then photo manipulate and digitally paint them in Photoshop to make them a past you've never seen. No one really knows the true stories behind old photos if no one kept telling the story; even then the past starts to blur as details are lost through generations. I re-create these photos to show a possible story you maybe never knew.

Could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you started in the arts? and your first experience in art making?

Hi I'm Mary Manchin. When I was younger, I would create colorful, surreal Photoshop pieces. I would incorporate my family and friends, with a dark twist. I always had a fascination with old photos and the stories behind them. One of her first freelance jobs was working for a funeral home scanning in old photos from people who had passed, removing all the dust and scratches for their slideshow at their funeral. From there, Mary combined her two passions and has been creating these haunting yet beautiful pieces since 2013.

How would you describe yourself and your artwork?

I would describe myself as a dark and bubbly. My work is dark, yet beautiful. I believe that my art makes you appreciate and see a new perspective on death and the past.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Salvador Dali and Tim Burton have been inspirations of mine, but when I started making my art I'd never really saw anything in the old yet creepy style and I'd always wanted strange pieces like it, so I started creating it myself.

What emotions do you hope the viewers experience when looking at your art?

I hope that people can experience a sense of wonder and interest in what they don't know when looking at my art.

When do you know that an artwork is finished ?

When I feel like there's enough detail to have you sit and ponder what's happening and see new things each time that you look at the piece.

What has been the most exciting moment in your art career so far?

Showing and selling my art at a gallery for the first time and hearing how much of an impact my work has on the people viewing it.

How long does it take to produce one work?

It can range from 1-2 days for each piece once I have found my materials.

What exciting projects are you working on right now?

I'm working on colorizing all my pieces as well as making a few new unique items such as resin pieces filled with pressed flowers and taxidermy and taxidermy dream catchers.