INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr IMAGES @polamaneli on Instagram
Local artist and illustrator Pola Maneli’s complex work evokes a sense of fluency and precision. We chat to him about his inspirations and the processes behind his striking works of art.
How did you get into illustration?
Like most people, I was really into cartoons as a child, but I didn’t start drawing in that way until I started pre-primary school. I used to get a lift every day with one of the school’s cleaning staff, and the only other child there that early was the principal’s son, so we quickly got close and he would teach me how to draw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters before anyone else arrived. After that I got a little bit into video games, but I would spend more time looking at the character illustrations in the booklets than playing the actual games, and at some point, I started coming up with and drawing characters of my own, and it’s just continued from there.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoLP7LalMZW/?taken-by=polamaneli
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnRNPfUlCc-/?taken-by=polamaneli
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVPlC8ZHqwz/?taken-by=polamaneli
What inspires you?
I used to spend a lot of time looking at things outside of illustration and be inspired by the level of craft people applied to their own passions. I would try and transfer it to my approach to my own work, but lately I’ve been retreating back into illustrations and comics for inspiration. The idea of finding parallels between your discipline and others can be great for emulating mood and tone, but these days I’m personally more interested in exploring the full possibilities of my own medium. In essence, trying to emphasise, for example, what it is that I as an illustrator can do that a photographer can’t – and it’s made my work a lot more challenging and rewarding as a result.
What does a typical day look like?
It’s pretty basic: I wake up, stare at the ceiling for a while, get washed and dressed. Have breakfast if I have the time. Get to the studio, spend some time on the internet, psyche myself up and then start working on whatever projects I have lined up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlI8rGPFmjC/?taken-by=polamaneli
Any local or international illustrators who you love or think we should check out?
Lisolomzi Pikoli is my favourite South African illustrator. His work is just really ethereal and evokes so much with so little. Sindiso Nyoni is still the gold standard of local illustration for me – he just continues to push himself, and surprise me. Seth Pimentel is really important to me. Looking at his work gives me permission to take chances in my own work. I find Musonda Kabwe‘s work to be really refined and smart. I’m an especially big fan of how unsettling and yet composed his comics are. Russell Abrahams aka YAY ABE‘s work strikes a really good balance between personal style and accessible, cheeky youthfulness that I really like. Thandiwe Tshabalala‘s work is also just super smart; she makes connections where you wouldn’t think there would be any. There’s another guy I just started following named Thapelo Keetile, who I think is really inventive. I am looking forward to seeing what he does next.
What mediums do you use?
Predominantly graphite and pen, but I’ve been slowly starting to work in colour again, so I’ll sometimes combine traditional mediums with Photoshop.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiMGg9FlE5C/?taken-by=polamaneli
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf8OcV9HGR-/?taken-by=polamaneli
What artistic process do you follow for creating your works?
It’s arduous, haha. I often start by spending a lot of time just thinking about an idea. If it’s just for myself, I can spend months or even years just mulling something over, and once I feel like I’ve locked down the concept, tone and themes then I’ll often do extensive research in the form of sketching and collecting references from everything from paintings and sculptures to books and films – anything that visually or thematically resonates with my concept. Then I’ll start drawing the actual piece itself. It’s pretty much the same for commissioned work, but just an exponentially compressed version of it.
What feeling are you trying to evoke through your pieces?
It varies from piece to piece, but I think there’s a sense of complexity to the work, but I would hope that there’s an element of grace to it as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BepIWSIHL1e/?taken-by=polamaneli
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd97MDYnZpw/?taken-by=polamaneli
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ0lTMHHSbZ/?taken-by=polamaneli
Any exciting plans for the future?
Hopefully some murals (if anyone would be willing to let me play around on their walls, let me know) and a lot of comics.
See more of Pola’s work on Instagram or visit his Tumblr here.
