BIOGRAPHY
Manuel Vason (b. 1974) is a visionary artist practicing photography as a philosophical prism through which to engage with others, reflect on the self and expand the imaginal.
In particular, he considers the act of photographing as a durational performance of focusing attention on the appearance of things and events with the intention of keeping them unfixed and alive.
Since 1999, Vason has collaborated with more than two hundred and fifty international performance artists, produced seven publications and exhibited in numerous institutions worldwide.
In 2019, Vason completed a PhD at the University for Creative Arts (UK) investigating the frictional interdependency between photography and performance art.
CV
EDUCATION
2019 – 'The PhotoPerformer: the Performance of Photography as an Act of Precarious Interdependency’. PhD by Publication at University for Creative Arts, UK.
2003 – 'The Performativity of Photography'. MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK.
PUBLICATIONS
2022 – Unframing Photography / Live Art Development Agency .
2017 – Perderse Juntos / Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico.
2015 – Double Exposures / Live Art Development Agency / Intellect Books.
2010 – Still Image Moving / In Between Time, Bristol.
2007 – Encounters / Arnolfini Gallery / Cornerhouse Publishing.
2002 – Exposures / Live Art scene in London / Black Dog Publishing.
2001 – Oh Lover Boy / (A collaboration with Franko B) / Black Dog Publishing.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
V&A Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK.
Museum of Modern Art Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Folkestone Museum, UK.
The Arts Council of England, London, UK.
State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Palazzo delle Papesse, Museum of Contemporary Art, Siena, Italy.
Whitechapel Hospital, London, UK.
Live Art Development Agency, London, UK.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
2022 – The Evidence of Things Not Seen - Live Performance at the National Museum of Theatre and Dance of Lisbon.
2021 – Unframing Photography. 10 x public interventions in Folkestone. A project supported by the Art Council of England
2018 – The PhotoPerfomer is using photography to trace a map so to get lost. Curated by Thomas Zollinger as part of Body and Freedom Festival, Zurich, Switzerland.
2018 – Transformance (work made in collaboration with DARC Collective). Curated by Thomas Bacon as part of Tempting Failure Festival, London, UK.
2017 – Submersion. Curated by Tete de Alencar as part of the Be Right Back Exhibition at MV Studio, London, UK.
2016 – Inspiration: exercises toward a vital photography. (with Photographic Exhibition). Curated by Benjamin Martinez at ArtSpaceMexico Gallery in Mexico City.
2016 – Oblivion. Festival La Plataformance at Centro Cultural Oswald de Andrade, São Paulo, Brazil.
2014 – Becoming an Image (with Photographic Exhibition). Rapid Pulse International Performance Art Festival, Chicago, USA.
2014 – Metáfora (with Photographic Exhibition). 10th VERBO Performance Art Festival, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil.
2014 – I Love To You (work made in collaboration with Maria Sideri). Newtown Castle Performance Festival, Burren College of Art, Ireland.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 – The Photographic Garden. Exhibition of Unframing Photography project at the UCA Project Space, Folkestone, UK.
2020 – Photography and Performance InExChange. Installation and exhibition at The Digital:Glassworks, Folkestone, UK.
2017 – Unforeseen (Open Studio). Curated by Clara Rocha at MV Studio, London, UK.
2017 – El PhotoPerformer | Acciones Permanentes – Imagens Desechable (The PhotoPerformer | Permanent Actions – Disposable Images). Museum de la Ciudad Queretaro, Mexico.
2016 – Documento Vivo (Live Document). Installation. Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2016 – Platformance Performance Art Platform. Curated by Alekos Plomaritis at Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, Greece.
2015 – Replay, Rethink, Reframe. Curated by Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich at Solyanka State Gallery as part of 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia.
2013 – STILL_MÓVIL. Centro Cultural GAM, Santiago, Chile.
2013 – Re-Performance. Between Performance and Photography Curated by Małgorzata Kaźmierczak at BWA SOKÓŁ Gallery, branch of SOKÓŁ Małopolska Cultural Centre, Nowy Sącz, Poland.
2013 – Becoming an Image. Curated by Eirini Papakonstantinou at 3rd Thessaloniki Performance Festival – 4th Biennale of Contemporary art Thessaloniki, Greece.
2012 – STILL_MÓVIL. Centro Municipal de Arte Hélio Oiticica, Festival Panorama, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2008 – Encounters. Curated by Bryony Bond and Mark Waugh at A Foundation as part of Liverpool Biennial 2008, Liverpool, Uk.
2007 – Encounters. Curated by Helen Cole at Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 – Out of the Margins: Performance in London's Institutions 1990s - 2010s - Whitechapel Gallery, London
2022 – Gestures with the Ground - at the Samphire Hoe Visitor Centre, Dover, Uk, as part of Salt + Earth: Festival of Landscape, Seascape & The Environment.
2021 – Human Measure. Curated by Bren O’Callaghan at HOME Gallery, Manchester
2021 – Queer Communion. Curated by Amelia Jones at ICA Los Angeles.
2021 – Performance Space 10 years Exhibition. Curated by Benjamin Sebastian at VSSL Studio London and PS Folkestone.
2017 – BODY MEDIA 2. Curated by Gong Yan and Richard Castelli at Power Station of Art, Shanghai
2017 – Torqued: Visual Notes for an Upside-Down World. Curated by Jack McGrath
P•P•O•W Gallery - New York.
2017 – The body and other small tails. Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete, Greece.
2017 – CORPO VISTO. Cultural Center of Brazilian Bank, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2016 – Two-Way Mirror. Curated by Daniela Beltrani at Lower Gallery, Objectifs, Singapore.
2016 – She Perceiving Her (work made in collaboration with Anne Bean). Bank Space Gallery, London, Uk.
2016 – HYBRID FAMILY (work made in collaboration with Maja Smrekar). Freies Museum Berlin, Germany.