KINK feature: Aghiles Mana
“Nephilim Mancipium” (high-quality prints available in the shop)
artist: Aghiles Mana
Berlin, Germany
artist instagram
(images featured below will also appear in the KINK book. available in the shop now.)
Your work in five words or less?
Passionate, geeky, twisted, holy, trash.
What’s your personal kink?
I don’t have a specific kink, but submission and dominance, or raw sadism and masochism shit fascinates me.
Turn ons?
There is a lot of mostly tiny stuff that makes me glad. The main thing- I just adore pure-hearted genuine people. When you can sit comfortably and laugh and be silly or even fight without tiptoeing or worrying. I live for such creatures.
Turn offs?
Waiting. The Deutschebahn, being given orders, anything non-genuine or pretentious. Fake political correctness.
Favorite subject?
If I am not doing a fanwork of Mai Shiranui- I love to show some kind of contrast, so to play with the depiction of what masculine and feminine is, or innocent and evil. Pure and religious, trashy and sexual. That’s what I like to do. My subjects tend toward the religious, pop-cultural, and mythological.
Ideal place to display your work?
Anywhere people can see it! Maybe in kids’ fairytale books, or on a poster in a trashy gay bar toilet.
Most memorable project?
My favorite are the two pieces I made for an event about queer arabs that was displayed in NYC, especially the one called magic lemons [pictured right]. It was a heavily-thought-out, sneaky way to illustrate my experience here in Germany.
Art crush?
There are a lot. Really a lot! But my top two would be JC Layendecker for his majestic, effortless paintings, and obviously James Jean. That man’s lines, themes, and compositions are just orgasmic. Even though I have mad respect for the skills he shows, I absolutely hate the work of Tom of Finland. Just thought you might want to know.
Personal crayon color?
I’m drawn to all shades of red- especially fresh blood stains on white tissue. Red is intense. Unapologetic.
What is unique about your process?
My concepts. I love to think very deeply within a theme and come up with an intricate conceptual frame. I like working with multiple layers of meaning or symbolism, so every detail has an idea behind it. I love it when others look at what I do and ask what it means. Then, like the demon I am, I just give them a hint, but no real explanation.
Why make art?
I love to draw. I love to see an intricate idea I have come into existence. I have been drawing my whole life, even though I’ve never studied art and had to drop it during my university. But I just adore art. It lets your twisted self breathe. I have mad respect for artists that are just creating unapologetically and know what they like to do. Those artists fascinate me, and represent why I love living.
What’s next?
I will still be contributing to other projects, but I want to do a book. A twisted, beautiful, lavish, dark, over-illustrated, lusty, sensual stories book- and the writing will also be mine.
