To step into the dream-like world of Nina Mankin’s art is to step onto a theatrical stage of pure intrigue and richly-intense drama . Exploration and “an attempt to uncover the lost parts of our psyche…our secret shadow selves” is a main theme that runs through Nina’s work.

Watching Nina talk about her work, along with the ‘Victorian’ hue that colours her work, enticed me into showcasing her hidden worlds. Secret places that can only be viewed when glimpsed through a tin’s tiny pinhole. l find the idea of creating a secret ‘narrative based’ inner world out of disused objects and materials enthralling, fueling my imagination, along with a sense of searching for a deeper meaning.

‘Behind Closed Doors’ is a mixed media piece, and tells the story of a man with a ‘faux’ tailors workshop who becomes obsessed with a woman called Deidra. Posing himself as a dressmaker (with an eye for the ladies in corsets),  he entices her into his workshop, and with the lure of a  magic potion…slowly she begins to fall in love with him…

Such dark narratives are perfectly played out on the hidden theatrical stage settings that Nina has so intricately crafted.