Return of The Five, a collective exhibition

by Asoka Dias Weerasingha

On the evening of 25th August an exhibition of painting and sculpture was presented at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery of the University of Visual Arts, which was on show till August 28. It was indeed an opportunity to detach oneself from the busy environs and relax in a truly artistic ambience.

The Five represents a group of individuals of five distinct characters, with different tastes, styles and conceptions. Lalith Lanskkara, Upali Ananda, Lesley Kumarasinghe, Rejeeve Weththasinghe and Geethani Kiriella were contemporaries of the University of Visual Arts from 1990 to 1994. No sooner they were out of the University than they put out their accumulated learning, with acquired skills and experiences, through a very successful exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Gallery. Though the outcome of the exhibition had been frequented by art circles for sometime, the artists themselves had gone into their shells, gradually, becoming unknown. Now, after 22 years they have surfaced with their matured works.

Theme

With his experiences, and as the head of the ceramic department of the University of Visual Art and in Japan, Lalith Lansakkara has presented about 6 or 7 pieces of works of sculpture in ceramics. About 5 of them appear to fall within a single theme, a feeling of having lost one's self and bereaving. His subjects were torsos of men, denied of their soul. He has experimented with this idea in different forms in each of his works under the particular theme where the treatment given is represented by the Japanese Ruki style. There were two pieces on the study of women in which rhythm dominates. His presentations are controversial, yet, the delicate treatment given shows his strong convictions on the expression that he tried to extend.

Structures

A Senior Lecturer, with experience in working with undergraduate students, Upali Ananda has contributed a couple of large structural works, with smaller works and a painting.

The message he tries to convey with the larger structures is, that the country is burdened with a lot of accumulated incomplete works. The materials used in the sculptures are mostly scrap metal pieces. He has converted discarded garbage to convey artistic expressions.

Lesley Kumarasingha has contributed ten oil on canvas, untitled paintings. With his strong brush strokes he has tried to bring out things he grasped around his surroundings. His use of colours speaks its own about the politics in them. Though not titled, the message he tries to convey is well expressed.

Most of his works fall within a single theme, hinting that the artist has done them within the same period. The painting where he speaks of a temple abandoned by its sole priest living there exposes the tragedy of the priesthood in the present day. The style of expression is similar, though the subject is different.

Reality

Rajeeve Weththasinghe’s presentation contained around 10 to 12 canvasses on landscapes. These paintings depict his impressions and emotions extending beyond the reality of the landscapes seen with the naked eye. No strong brush strokes, yet large patches of strong colours spread over the canvas bring out the light and the shadows. The mystical blending of colours is the language that speaks to the emotions. Looking at them, one would not see the subjects that his eyes grasped, but the feeling of the breeze that comes across, the mystic sounds of flowing water and even the hustle of the leaves, as if you are there. These paintings should be looked at with an open mind, and at leisure.

Geethanjalie Kiriella’s contribution enhanced the variety of the exhibition with around 7 works in the print media. They are the outcome of her exposure and experience gathered in the United States. Instead of brush lines, they contain lines composed of words in varying sizes.

The word is the name of the person who is depicted in the works. All depict similar techniques except the work titled Birds, which looks different.

Thus, the exhibition presented by The Five is a rare combination of talent and is a soothing experience. A couple of decades back, Horton Place and Lionel Wendt were venues for very promising art exhibitions. With the changes that have taken place in the present society, the growing demand is for aesthetics that speak to the limbs of people and not to the minds.