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| Sunday, 21 March 2004 |
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A telling portrayal of Lankan life by FARAH MACAN MARKAR
His paintings depict episodes in day-to-day life in Sri Lanka. A pair of lovers and a watchful army checkpoint in Galle Face Green. A fruit shop, as can be seen in the Kollupitiya market. A watchmender's shop and a man leaning on its outside wall reading a newspaper. The pictures are colourful, surreal, humorous and in a sense capture the farcical essence of life. This is "Adventures of Ordinary Man", an art exhibition by Alex Stewart, which commenced at the Barefoot Gallery, on March 5, and will conclude today. An artist from London (no he's not the cricketer, although he coincidentally even shares the same middle name-James) Alex bases his paintings from his day-to-day observations of life. This is his sixth exhibition in Sri Lanka, his first being held in 1995/'96. Having a love for people watching and travelling around, together with his camera, sketch book and note pad, Alex has travelled to Kandy, Trincomalee and Down South to capture various Sri Lanka scenes. Clicking, sketching and writing down his thoughts the final picture comes together in his art studio, in London. "It takes time for an idea to sink into my head and even more time to finally create something interesting out of it", says Alex.
The dreary reality of crows pecking in the streets in some pictures, is counterbalanced with an angel clad in a purple sari flying in the sky in others. The bright and at times luminous colours used, give the paintings a surreal look. Says Alex, "Sri Lanka is a colourful country. I see so much of colour surrounding Sri Lankan day-to-day-life, I have used this in my paintings". Another aspect of Stewart's paintings is the fact that the water colours on paper have been done within a small space, all filled up with activity and colour, which give it energy and vibrancy. Painting as an outsider Alex says gives him a chance to notice aspects locals would not see. "As an outsider I can be unbiased and unprejudiced. I also see everyday ordinary things in Sri Lanka as something extraordinary, and am able to bring out the extraordinary aspects of ordinary rural and urban life of Sri Lanka in my paintings". A self taught artist, Stewart began his artistic career twelve years ago.
He wanted to be an artist and he worked towards his goal. Messing around with his artist wife's paints, he gradually built himself up, having exhibitions in his home country England, then Sri Lanka, India and New York. "I believe you should put your whole mind and energy in what you do, for only then will you finally get there", he says. Painting today has become to him a whole new language. It is his means of communicating his thoughts and feelings. Drawing what he says he cannot put into words, Alex has a love for the works of Mattise and Chagall, as well as for Indian miniature manuscript paintings, Sri Lankan temple carvings, village paintings and art history. |
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The pictures are bright, positive and have a mystical, dreamy side too.
Working in bars at the time, feeling a need to change his lifestyle,
realising he wasn't getting any younger, when a friend asked him what his
dream was, Alex knew the answer.
