It began with mang.
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For most people, the word probably doesn’t mean much.
But for Launceston artist Fakington Wilde, a mang is a true compliment.
“It’s a word to describe people I like,” Mr Wilde said.
Needless to say, his upcoming exhibition ‘Mangs of Launceston’ will offer an inside glimpse into Mr Wilde’s world of colourful characters.
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The exhibition will host a series of large acrylic portraits and smaller ink and watercolour images of “Launceston’s superstars”.
His second exhibition has been greatly assisted by a Regional Arts Fund Grant, which he won at the end of last year.
“The regional arts fund grant has given me the opportunity to work with exactly the materials I wanted to and explore ideas that had previously been too expensive,” Mr Wilde said.
“I had all the money to buy all the paint that I wanted and all the canvases so I could paint the way I wanted instead of the way I had to afford to paint.”
It made a significant difference to his painting as previously a lot of his paintings were done on bits of cardboard.
Although he does not regret using cardboard as a painting surface.
Using canvas meant paints slid around, while “cardboard is thirsty”, Mr Wilde said.
“My paintings are messy conversations about paint. I am constantly reminding myself that when a painting becomes too photo-real, it may as well have been taken by a camera,” Mr Wilde said.
“I let a lot of accidents come into my work which bolster my impulsive intentions, they are mostly done pretty fast. The only time I get into trouble is when I spend too long on a picture.”
During the last seven months since receiving the grant, Mr Wilde has been busy painting.
His exhibition will have 10 large paintings and he hopes each large image will have an accompanying watercolour or ink painting.
“It feels really great to paint the faces of such awesome people whom I know."
He was considering hold a poetry reading, a “Mang Mang”, on Saturday, August 26, to bring two forms he enjoys together.
The exhibition is only one of several projects on his plate at the moment, as the third-year social work university student is not unaccustomed to hard work.
Mr Wilde is also working on a large public art exhibition for mental health week in October, which brings 20 community organisations together.
Allowing participants to display artworks encouraging conversations about mental health whilst also being a vehicle to remove the stigma, he said.
- Mangs of Launceston kicks off from August 4 at 6pm at Sawtooth ARI Gallery, Level 2, 160 Cimitiere Street. The exhibition will run for a month.