Paintings

Manning’s paintings are rooted in a deep engagement with material, memory, and human connection. Enthralled by the physical process of painting, she experiments with a range of media to build layered, textured surfaces. Each mark becomes a trace of the moment it was made; each new layer alters and partially obscures what lies beneath. This process reflects how time distorts memory—how our past is never fixed, but constantly shifting as it’s reinterpreted through the present.

Her paintings evolve slowly, developing a history of their own. As the surface grows and changes, the work becomes a metaphor for life’s accumulation of experience—complex, layered, and at times unclear, yet always deeply felt. The act of making is both intuitive and reflective, connecting the physical gesture of painting to the emotional resonance of what it means to be human.



Manning’s practice often begins outdoors, exploring her surroundings and the natural world. She reflects on the different people who move through shared spaces and how we relate to one another within them. She is particularly drawn to places that bear subtle, ephemeral traces of human presence—like a chip in paintwork or a footprint in snow. These quiet impressions act as reminders of those who came before us and gestures toward those who will follow. They mirror the themes of memory, transience, and connection that echo throughout her work.