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| Sunday, 1 August 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Space, Life, Lines by Carol Aloysius
Unusual colour contrasts, deft outlines, and an illusion of space. These were the hallmarks of 'Space, Life, Lines' an extraordinary exhibition of paintings held at the Harold Peries Art Gallery at the Lionel Wendt last week. It was sponsored by the Trikone Arts Centre, an institute that has been in the vanguard in promoting Peace via art. Visitors at this exhibition by two talented artists from Jaffna and Batticaloa, not only saw Tamil art at its best; they witnessed a memorable unfolding of Tamil culture both from the paintings that were on display and the traditional Tamil songs and music that were produced by 'The Eye' local knowledge Activists group from Batticaloa, performed on each day of the three-day exhibition.
"The colours you see here are the typical of the Tamil community", says Dr. R. Rushandan from Batticaloa more popularly known as Kikko, as he takes me on a guided tour of his paintings that adorn one of the walls. On the opposite wall are those of his colleague Vasuki Jeyasankar. A registered veterinary surgeon and now with the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), Kikko's work endorsed his reputation as a renowned artist with several solo and joint exhibitions to his credit. We pause in front of a striking abstract painting of a mother and child. Pointing to the beautiful contrasting colours of deep red, green, black, yellow and orange threads woven into the fabric the mother wears, he asks, "Why is it that most of our local painters look to the West for their inspiration, when we have it all in our own culture?" "The colours you see here are typical of our Tamil culture. They are also universal colours that will appeal to any artist." Another abstract painting, this time of a nude woman sitting facing the wall catches my eye. The sturdy voluptuous figure painted in shades of silver and grey is seductive and tantalising. Here, the accent is on her 'muscle power'. The artist points to her strong limbs and says, "I have deliberately drawn my women (nine paintings of women in all) to look strong and muscular. Depicting women in this manner is typical of our culture from ancient times." Why? "Because our women use their muscles all the time whether it is in the field or in the home. Women play a dominant role in our society. So I have portrayed them as being strong rather than frail and weak".
Despite women being featured largely in his paintings, it is to the Hindu God of learning and knowledge, Lord Ganesh, that Kikko gives pride of place. Eleven out of the twenty-seven paintings he has exhibited are of Lord Ganesh. "I love to experiment with this God. As you see, I have shown him in different moods and poses", he says by way of explanation. Kikko uses his own technique when it comes to using raw material. Instead of painting on canvas, he uses boards which he says are "cheaper, more practical and give a better effect". In one of his creations, he has experimented with terra cotta using designs from Hindu temples to depict what he says are the "victories of war" depicting a collection of heads on the upper half of the mural and traditional Tamil designs below. Fellow painter Kamala Vasuki who hails from Jaffna describes herself as a woman activist deeply involved in children's and women's rights. A member of several organisations involved in gender activism, she is now working for UNICEF in Jaffna. The slim attractive young artist who has also exhibited her work before and earned a reputation as an outstanding artist in her own right, is also obsessed with women as well as children rather than landscapes. She says, "Most of my work deals with working women. These paintings represent their experiences - and mine. Since children are the innocent victims of war I have selected them as my subjects as well". Themes of violence and war are very evident in her paintings. She use soft, pastel feminine shades even when depicting violent scenes of war.A common and unusual feature of her paintings are the classic yoga poses in which her characters are depicted. "Whenever I do yoga I always experience some unusual feelings within me. It is these feelings that I have tried to project in these paintings", she tells me. One of the most poignant of her paintings is a pastel scene of a mother standing silhouetted against a cloud of white smoke ( a fall out of the war). In front of her are the foot prints of tiny feet walking away into an empty space. The painting she says, was inspired by the "Bindunuwewa incident" when all the mothers were mourning for their lost children. If the reason for showcasing the work of these two painters, was to bridge the gap between the North and South and enrich Colombo audiences with a rare glimpse into Tamil culture at its best, then the organisers of this exhibition have undoubtedly succeeded in their goal. |
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