I’ve Seen The Elephant
Picnic Table: 53” x 84” x 100”
Individual Plates: 8” in diameter
Glazed ceramic, marine vinyl, insulation foam, wood
2021
2021 Emerging Artist
Artist Statement
Since arriving here at Franconia and so close to Minneapolis, where recent tragic events and civil unrest took center stage, I’ve been able to see the lasting impact of systemic racial inequalities and oppression as both a visitor and temporary resident of this place. Uprisings and actions around the world that were a result of these events, particularly the dismantling of colonial figures in major historic sites, have created new perspectives on peoples experiences with monuments and large-scale sculptures. It’s forced our gaze to shift from an upward direction toward symbols of power, to looking down and seeing one another.
Borrowing from the aesthetics of family parties and community gatherings, “I’ve Seen The Elephant,” is an installation meant to reconsider public sites of celebration and relationships to our immediate surroundings. Visitors are invited to interact with the picnic table by sitting down and feeling comfortable. I intended its oversized proportions and cushion surfaces to softly lift audiences from the ground, so that bodies are positioned on the same plane.
Timothy Manalo
Born: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Resides: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education
Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD University), BFA, 2010
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (SMFA at Tufts), MFA, 2019