Danny Manning
Artist Statement
I am a basket maker and textile artist based in Eastbourne, East Sussex. I have been a member of the Basketry Association since 2020.
I explore Sussex folklore/customs/traditional craft techniques working with my own locally grown willow and unconventional materials found on the South Downs. I create a range of crafted objects from intricate pieces of art jewellery to largescale mummer masks and sculptures.
Background
Initially trained in Fine Art and Critical Studies at Central St. Martins, I graduated with First Class Honours in 1991. I began exploring a variety of 3-dimensional craft processes back in the 1990’s after moving to East Sussex. I started with wire and mosaic before moving on to willow and a range natural material.
Fascinated by various weave structures, I am a self-taught basket maker and am particularly interested in the sculptural potential of the process. This has culminated in a variety of large-scale commissions.
During Lockdown I began to explore the possibilities of basket making with Downland waste materials and litter. This enquiry has culminated in obtaining a distinction in MA textiles at Brighton University in 2022.
Current Projects-Eco Crafts for All
Over the last four years I have explored issues around sustainability, deforestation, species decline and climate change through the free found materials in a specific hedgerow and verge in the South Downs National Park and stretch of coastline close to the Cuckmere Valley, Eastbourne. This formed the focus of my MA Textiles project at the University of Brighton 2023. I developed a whole range of creative samples from baskets, jewellery and sculpture together with formulating a workshop programme to encourage others to revaluate the materials we throw away. Currently I run ‘Eco Crafts for All’ a five-week course and NCFE Level 1 in Creative Crafts aimed at neurodiverse learners at Eastbourne and Newhaven.
Mummers, Masks and Mischief
Mumming a form of folk drama traditionally performed in masks has its roots in England, Ireland and Newfoundland. Normally performed at the Turn of the Season it gave the opportunity for young men to mask up and get up to mischief together making house visits, gate crushing weddings and wakes and the performing of a rhyming play.
I created my first mummer mask in 2018 after reading Jacquline Simpson’s Folklore of Sussex. Based on the myth of the St. Leonards Dragon, the dragon being a traditional character found in many mummer plays.
This year I took part in ‘Conjuring Summer’, an event put on at the Mint House, Pevensey, East Sussex around the theme of a Spirit of Sussex and pageantry. I created a large scale masked character ‘Noor’ and have now embarked on an in depth exploration of mummer mask construction using locally sourced willow and straw.
