Nicholas Mangan fashions surprising materials into compelling installations, using everything from coral rubble to cryptocurrency as a point of departure.
Mangan’s engagement with ecology, history, economics and politics has produced a singular body of work, offering new perspectives on topics at the forefront of civic debate.
Organised by MCA curators Anneke Jaspers and Anna Davis, Nicholas Mangan: A World Undone charts the evolution of Mangan’s distinctive visual language over two decades, culminating with his latest project Core-Coralations (2021–ongoing), inspired by the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef.
Exhibition highlights include Ancient Lights (2015), a film that considers our relationship to the sun powered by solar panels installed on the MCA building; Limits to Growth (2016–21), which compares bitcoin with an ancient form of stone currency from the Pacific; and Termite Economies (2018–2021), a series of sculptures that evoke non-human labour and social organisation.
The exhibition, designed by architect Ying-Lan Dann, will be accompanied by a monograph containing newly commissioned essays. In addition, a series of public programs will take inspiration from the many disciplines and current affairs Mangan draws on in his work.
Curators
Anneke Jaspers and Anna Davis
