Nana’s works caught my eye from the first moment on. Works which very honest and which let you in deeply, but at the same time very powerful, and maybe even more so though their honesty and the willingness to give deep insights. A door that opens into whole worlds to walk into.
For the following I asked Nana if she wants to do an interview with me:
Luna Maluna Gri: Tell me a bit about yourself and your work.
Nana Mandl: I’m Nana Mandl, a visual artist currently living and working in Vienna. In my work, I mostly explore the relationship between the digital and the material world, and how one translates into the other. Recurring topics include the overflow of visual stimulation, female identities, and relationships within our contemporary digital culture. I often work with found footage, incorporating various techniques such as digital printing, embroidery, and drawing. My practice frequently involves figuration and text, combining seemingly unconnected images into vivid and colourful textile collages, sculptural elements, and installations.
LMG: How and why did you start creating art?
NM: Ever since I was very little, creating has been what I enjoyed the most. Drawing, painting, stitching, and crafting have always been my main activities. My parents used to tell me I would definitely become an artist when I grew up – so I never really questioned how or why I started.
LMG: What role does creating art play for you?
NM: A major one. It gives me a sense of purpose in this world.
LMG: What does your creating process look like?
NM: That really depends on what I’m working on. I love creating site-specific installations, which means I have to engage with the space and its given conditions, developing a concept that works both aesthetically and conceptually. When I work freely in my studio, my process usually starts with digital footage that I either gather from my personal archive or find online. Once I’ve chosen which images and techniques I want to work with, the process can be quite intuitive – with a chaotic mix of cutouts and papers spread across my desk – or, more often, a very thought-through and precisely planned procedure involving many steps to create larger-scale textile works.
LMG: What inspires you?
NM: Anything can inspire me, sometimes even very random images from social media. At the moment, I feel particularly drawn to chaotic snapshots from the everyday lives of mothers with their children.
LMG: What is your experience with the art world?
NM: It’s the world I feel most comfortable in. It’s where I feel I belong, where people understand my profession and motivation, and where I can be my fully authentic self.
LMG: Is there something you would like to change about the art world? If yes, what and why?
NM: There’s a lot I would like to change in the world in general. But the art world specifically…? Everything I dislike about it, I tend to find outside this bubble as well.
speaking of (Mafalda & Baltazar)
LMG: What do you think is the role of artists and art in our society?
NM: I see it as my responsibility to engage with, comment on, or react to contemporary culture and life in general. Although I’d love to say I don’t believe there should be a defined role that artists have to fulfill – since I highly value freedom of choice – I do think artists have a special gift that should be shared with the world rather than kept to themselves.
LMG: What artist or artists would you like to meet (dead or alive), and if you had one question, what would you ask them?
NM: I would ask Katherine Bernhardt if I could come and visit her house one day 🙂
LMG: Is there something you want to achieve in your artistic life? Dreams, future plans, or projects you’d like to do?
NM: I love the idea of creating a huge immersive, child-friendly installation in a major institution—something that could function both as a playground and as a great art experience for everyone.
LMG: Do you think there is something you can bring to this world through your work as an artist that you couldn’t in any other field?
NM: Of course!
Credits:
4th photo: Miro Kuzmanovic / DOCK20, Kunstraum und Sammlung Hollenstein
6th photo: Clems Fantur
8th photo: Manuel Carreon Lopez
9th photo: Johannes Stoll © Belvedere
All other photos and all artworks: Nana Mandl
Website: https://www.nanamandl.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nana.mandl/
Art Uncovered 
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