We are born to do some things. You know, born to do just that thing, the one we may not have discovered yet or won’t discover for who knows how long. Lucky are those who discover their thing, like Maricor and Maricar Manalo, the fraternal twins from Sydney, Australia who call themselves Maricor/Maricar, a ‘twin-sized studio’. They do embroidery with thread, needle, and the end result is art. Apart from their thread magic, they also direct stop motion animation and hand-crafted props. They have also created music videos though hand-drawn graphics and props.
Who would have thought embroidery could be deceived to look like paint strokes!
Born in Manila, Phillipines, Maricor and Maricar illustrate the simplest, the most complex of things and the things in between all through thread.
They grew up making rainbows all through kindergarten, and their love and understanding of hues is impeccable and well visible in their work.
They sketch the illustrations on linen or cotton fabric and sometimes fill through water colours or use digitalisation before they detail it with the needle work. The needle work renders the designs a 3D effect and embosses the details of the illustration. They always try to put forth novel ideas that would push the boundaries that circumference the field of embroidery.
Featured above are stills from the music video they created for Murder by Death’s track ‘White Noise’.
They used graphics drawn by hand and props made out of paper, clothes, chicken bones and other things from the garden and kitchen and the stop motion technique for its creation.
Their work encases contemporary art into the centuries-old art of embroidery. The art they create, though dating back centuries, is visibly fresh and competes with the emerging streams of art in the modern time.
They hold workshops, have clients globally including major publishers and what not. The needle lust of the Manalo duo weaves an inspiring track for young artists to follow.