Artist Statement

I am John Mangila. I live and work in Sydney, which was and always will be the Eora Nation of the Gadigal people.

The ultimate goal of my art practice is to create freely, guided by intuition. I’m interested in the creative act itself and finding poetry in the materials that I engage with in the studio. I utilise contemporary abstraction to explore beauty as an experience, encourage improvisation, celebrate chance and present an alternate way of seeing and being in the world.

My latest body of work Unfolding is a collaboration with Kerrie Satava and was shown at Airspace Projects from 1 - 17 March 2024. Unfolding is a conversation between two artists exploring the creative process, intuition, trust and the relinquishing of control. It is an investigation into what happens when boundaries are reimagined, and individual ownership disappears, where intersections are no longer markers of separation but serve to tell a new narrative of collaboration and connection.