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| Sunday, 20 July 2003 |
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by Farah Macan Markar Stepping into the Barefoot I am greeted with stark blue sapphires, bloody rubies and shimmering opals staring out of canvasses, leaning on white walls. While simple stones in a multitude of colours and shades dominate most of the pictures, an odd animal or two, a couple of trees, and even what seemed to be like people roamed about in the rest. Talk about jewellery seizing the day, these glistening finds of treasure hoards, not only walked the canvass, but stalked pieces of silver cut and moulded in various shapes, hanging on colourful chords of orange, yellow, blue and green. Want to know what's all this about? It's a glimpse of an exhibition of specially created jewellery and paintings recently held at the Barefoot Gallery. And the creator behind these elegant works-Preethi Hapuwatte. The Barefoot, being no strange place for Preethi whose been working in it as a designer of its bags, toys and accessories, hosted, this event of her 9th solo exhibition of paintings and first birthday (and only she says) of jewellery display. Painting forty canvasses and designing 38 pieces of jewellery was no easy task. "To paint you have to be in the mood. It's something that comes up the spur of the moment, and once you start on it, takes a bit of time. When working with jewellery, as I just do the designing, I do quite a lot at one go and send it to my jewellers to fix them up", says Preethi whose been working on her exhibits for about a year. Using colourful Ceylon semi precious stones, a few precious ones of blue sapphires, white sapphires and opals, and also some onyx and lapis lazuli which Preethi gets from the big next door neighbour of our tiny island, India, she weaves out various designs of jewellery pieces on silver, in simple basic shapes of triangles, squares and circles. When using stones she does not believe in changing the shape of the stones, but chooses what she likes best and uses them as they are. So designing the pieces according to the shape of the stones, they also have a slight touch of the tribal. This comes out of Preethi having been to Iraq and being inspired by modern tribal jewellery wear she witnessed in its soils. Rounded up with colourful chords which she made from Barefoot fabric, they create a soft, gay, happy look to these elegant works. The paintings meanwhile are works of inspiration from the gems she has been working with. Each painting bares the name and colour of a stone. The outcome of it, is however, Preethi's image of the jewel. What she sees inside a stone. "The Ruby Man", "The Golden Man" are some of the interpretations she has of the blood red ruby. Says Preethi, "When painting jewellery you are working on colour and texture all the time. As a result it makes you look at colour differently". Preethi's love for jewels, leads her as far as to see normal, everyday sights like even "people" differently. The last of the set of pictures, shows this clearly, of which she says that people like jewels do not value others. "Jewel People" she calls it. Coming from an artistic family, of painters, and a grandfather who was a craftsmen, goldsmith and jeweller, painting and jewellery has been Preethi's life from small days. One of her first memories are of her uncle bringing boxes of colourful beads from Pettah, from which she would make various bead necklaces and bracelets on pieces of string. As time went by she began making little pieces of accessories for herself, family and friends, selling the odd one here and there. A self taught artist, Preethi does not stick to one particular theme. "My paintings change every year. I love drawing simple geometric forms". Her favourite - animals. Being thus interested in painting and designing she joined Barefoot straight after school and has been in it for thirty years ever since. |
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