Lonely artist in a monochrome universe

By Kalakeerthi Dr. Edwin Ariyadasa

Nobody, I think ought to read poetry or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the poet or artist has actually expressed.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
US novelist (1804-1864)

For quite some time now, we have lived with artist Chandana Ranaweera's veering creative guises. Over the years, we have got accustomed to the state of mind of entering his world of multiple expressions, fairly gingerly - not knowing what is in store for us.

He baffles us with enigmas. At our unwary moments, he foists upon us creative riddles. He addresses us in perplexing conundrums. He twists our mind.

He persistently ties up our emotions in complicated knots. As in sessions of Zen meditation, he presents us 'koans' (spiritual puzzles) that force us into unfamiliar states of perception.

Responses

In brief, Chandana's creations challenge our work-a-day responses.

And, now Chandana Ranaweera has retreated into his forbidding monochrome world, and issues us black-and-white messages, that serve as post-cards from various stages of his creative pilgrimage.

We at the receiving end, keep on discovering that the enigma continues to thicken.

Rhythms

In the early phase of his black-and-white products, the efforts seemed to be surface exercises. One would even have thought, that they were mere frivolous sketches, aimed at eliciting a passing smile or a slightly sustained laugh of simple amusement.

If you take a keen look at some linear achievements of this artist, the living rhythms of the ensemble of his lines, will seem an outcome of his minimalistic inspiration.

You could, for instance, focus on his monochrome work which he describes simply as "Dancers."

In flimsy-looking lines, he captures the inner life of the dance, communicating to the viewer the impression of an on-going dance.

His maturity has come about as a result of his keen creative vision, which becomes his instrument to discern and probe the "heart" of the subject he focuses upon. In his depictions of movement, he has been able to make his creative soul, both 'see' and 'hear' the essential elements of his subject-item, speedy flash, only out of a strenuously disciplined soul.

If you could view with the properly tuned absorption, at one of his recent monochrome triumphs, you would certainly class this Ranaweera, among the exceptionally gifted artists, not only in this island of Sri Lanka, but, in the world as a whole.

I could focus on one of his singularly impressive sketches. This is titled "Trees." On the surface you only three stylised trees.

Visualisation

But, the details of its sketching the economy of visualisation and the effective utilisation of the monochrome lines - together, elevate this creation into admirable hight art.I could not help but, see a trace of Henri Matisse's paper-cuts, in this monochrome effort.

As part of his stylistic repertoire, artist Ranaweera possesses on adeptness to bring in a touch of whimsicality to what he sketches.

The piece entitled "Thanking Faces", is a telling instance of this creative attitude.

Ranaweera has elevated his minimal monochrome art to the present height due largely to his assiduous observation of the multitude of life's manifestations with the eccentric and whimsical logic of a child's incipient imagination.

Vision

He is creatively aware that the vision of the child is an invaluable tool for an artist, keen on adding a fresh view-point to his observations, Ranaweera has an on-going collection of children's books.

What really emerges through all this is the inescapable fact that his art has reached a stature, that ensures him a stable place in the main stream of Sri Lankan art. As a person, Ranaweera is unusually sensitive. He has an affection for his mother, which has been a dynamic force in his life. The departure of his mother has created a gaping wound in his psyche. But, he has converted that trauma into a tremendous impetus to his creativity.

We can expect utterly astonishing triumphs from this monochrome soul.