Creating work that revolves around female characters, Manjit Thapp is something of an Instagram sensation. Having only graduated from her illustration course at Camberwell College of Arts in 2016, she’s racked up an impressive client list including Penguin Random House, Google, Apple, Tate, TIME and Stylist; and her work has been featured in British Vogue, Vogue India, Wonderland, Dazed and more.
Thapp’s work combines digital and traditional media, and is often formed of layers of textures and patterns. She recently published her graphic novel, Feelings, an illustrated journey through one young woman’s year of emotions as told by mirroring the seasons.
Back in 2018, Thapp was one of the artists commissioned by Tate Collective which were featured in a series of artworks across London celebrating the capital’s women past and present. The piece was part of a series orchestrated by a collaboration between Tate and Mayor of London’s year-long women’s equality campaign, #BehindEveryGreatCity to mark the centenary of the first women in the UK winning the right to vote, and to drive forward gender equality across the city today.
The following year, Thapp illustrated the book The Bigger Picture: Women Who Changed the Art World, which offers young readers an introduction to some of the most renowned women in art. Written by Sophia Bennett, it was published by Tate Publishing to coincide with International Women’s Day 2019.
Now, Birmingham-born illustrator Manjit Thapp has been given NOW Gallery in London’s Young Artist Commission 2021, showing the exhibition titled My Head Is A Jungle from 23 July – 31 October. This annual commission looks to celebrate the best rising talent in the fields of visual arts and illustration, with previous commissions from Pakistani visual artist Sara Shakeel and illustrator Hattie Stewart.
My Head Is A Jungle will see Thapp transform the gallery space into a “three-dimensional maze-like structure adorned with large-scale murals and sculptures… hitting dead ends, moments of light, dense shadows and working your way through your own feelings,” according to NOW Gallery. A large fluorescent red sun hanging above the show—a symbol that acts as a motif throughout much of Thapp’s work.
Alongside tropical flora and fauna like snakes, tigers, bold flowers and rich green foliage, her work frequently centres on a young Asian protagonist “to represent empowerment, particularly for women, within today’s modern, cultural landscape.”
These characters and natural imagery are more than purely decorative: they narrate “overgrowing thoughts, tangled feelings, suppressed fears and wild growth… documenting the contemporary female experience.”
As such, the jungle is used as a vehicle for exploring the emotion, making the usually-hidden manifest as an illustrated stream visual metaphors for musings, reflections, inner thoughts and the conversations we have with our inner selves.
This is the first time her work has been translated into a physical environment. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to bring my 2D illustrated world to life and expand on many of the recurring themes in my work in a brand-new way,” says Thapp. “I hope to highlight how art can be used to channel our emotions by creating illustrations that draw upon everyday feelings.”
Kaia Charles, cultural curator at NOW Gallery, adds, “Known for blending the use of her pencil and digital creativity, her illustrations are inspired from a combination of her personal experiences, influential culture to provide empowering messages for young women today…Thapps’s drawings are gentle, yet confident and empowering. The exhibition will question how creative processes can be used to focus and distil thoughts.”
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