How a silent film inspired wearable sculptures
The two stellar fairs Artefino and MaArte brought fastidious shoppers to a vast new galaxy of Filipino design and craftsmanship. Each fair just gets better and better every year, as artisans strive to outdo themselves and buyers gratefully reward them for their efforts. It’s a happy cycle.
But in this array of riches, I wandered into one particular room on the fifth floor of the Peninsula, prompted by fellow STAR columnist Tats Manahan. She was promoting the jewelry or accessory line—both terms don’t do the pieces justice—from her daughter Lilianna.
“I want to buy the pieces myself,” this proud mommy tells me. “She has a crazy aesthetic. The pieces are great!”
Intrigued, this is where I make a beeline only to find that they are still setting up. It is very early on the first day, after all. But soon Tats’ daughter starts laying out the sculptural pieces on a textured display surface that could be the surface of the moon.
And very likely that is the inspiration because both Lilianna Manahan and Alexie Nethercott, the partners behind ZO, describe it as a “mikrokosmos” based on George Méliès’ 1902 silent film masterpiece, A Trip to the Moon.
Lilianna Manahan and Alexie Nethercott are over the moon creating joyful artworks.
Since I love all things related to the moon (except being called a lunatic), I immediately watch this silent film with great delight. Over 12 black-and-white minutes, I am transported to a room full of fanatics obsessed with getting to the moon. Calculations are made. A contraption is built. This sophisticated rocket ship takes off for the moon with the looniest of the characters on board.
They discover that the moon isn’t empty. It’s peopled with tribes and exotic plants. They don’t understand these things and try to destroy them. In 1902, a film depicting the devastating effects of colonialism must have been radical.
Small wonder that the jewelry and shoe line that Lilianna and Alexie create are equal parts whimsy and serious art, sculptural and fun, beautiful and crazy. And they are so appealing to me, as they are to Lilianna’s mom.
Even the lost wax method used by Lilianna sounds dreamy. She explains, “I experienced a creative block in 2018 and, to do something else, I started taking silversmithing lessons in Studio 925 which was in UP Village at the time, now on Jupiter Street. The silversmithing process led from one thing to another and sparked my interest in casting, which was a process I was familiar with because I read about it and have some pieces in cast brass.”
She says, “It was something I wanted to try myself, so I took a short course on wax carving for casting in London in 2019 and had an opportunity to explore it during lockdowns, which is why I started making jewelry.”
Lilianna adds, “For this collection, like my previous ones, I carve out each component in wax and have it cast in silver or brass. The lost wax method is an old technique used as far back as the Roman and Greek periods. Wax is cast in sand or plaster and molten metal is poured in to replace the shape of the wax.” This can be replicated if a mold for the wax is made, allowing the designer to continuously cast the same shape several times.
“I used this method because I like carving and having my own hand in the process rather than having a craftsman carve for me. Alexie’s expertise is shoe design and beading, which she learned at an early age on her own. She embellished her shoes with beads herself in her collections.
“We both wanted this project to be a showcase of our love for our craft and the handmade. Alexie’s beading, which comes in layers and dimensions, adds a different texture, movement, and contrast to the metal. So the combination of cold metal and warm beading was something Alexie and I really liked and wanted to show that both could be in one piece and collection.”
I ask how their aesthetic came about. Lilianna explains, “Alexie and I met up and found out that we were on the same wavelength in (terms of) aesthetics, background in the beginnings of our craft—we both started making things when we were kids—and similar sources of research.”
Lilianna goes on: “She mentioned she wanted something to do with the moon and I remembered the film of George Méliès’, A Trip to the Moon. From there it was easy to branch out into acrobats, Niki de St. Phalle, and everything colorful and fantastical. I think a lot of it has to do with just the things we read and expose ourselves to, personal taste and the penchant to express and show anything wondrous and joyful.”
Alexie’s shoes look like something made for dancing across a ballroom on the moon, or for dancing across someone’s heart. They are almost too beautiful to wear but, hey, people love to dance like crazy and crazy people love to dance.
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For now, look for and message them on Instagram @liliannamanahan and @alexie_studiodarte.
