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| Sunday, 14 November 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Shapes of the world by Professor S. B. Dissanayake 'Pictures, if they are to have an effect, must have the tremendous intensity of silence... the silence before the storm.' Luc Tuymans. ****
The silences and the 'hidden' is what is emblematic of all of Anoma Wijewardene's paintings. It is as if she has taken a cue from the Heideggrian doctrine of Alatheia, of unfolding and disclosure. It is her imagination that is more willing to receive the shapes of the world - both man-made and natural or geological. In her previous series for her 2002 New Delhi show she compared and contrasted Buddhist symbols with Islamic architecture and iconography in central Asia - their consonance and dissonances. In her Colombo show she alluded to the state of women damaged by the war, by loss, by grief.
Anoma's paintings can never be ignored. The extraordinary range in these paintings ensures that they can have many interpretations. Cultural, social, religious or spiritual according to one's moods and inclinations. The hidden circumscribed meanings in them only emerge if one has the time to concentrate and meditate on them, and return to them - it is only then that the viewer will be rewarded with a plenitude of metaphorical meanings. In the present series to be exhibited at gallery cafe (2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 3) from November 19 to December 9 the birds in the paintings are metaphors for the secret passage of the soul. This collection asks for a big imaginative leap from its viewers. These are not bird paintings, and neither are they illustrations of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry, but they are inspired by them, and a response to them. These works explore ideas about freedom, mutability, transformation and revelation. I am reminded of Robert Hass's lines on Rilke - 'They have the feeling of being written from a great depth in himself. What makes them so seductive is that they also speak to the reader so intimately. They seem crooned or whispered into our inmost ear, insinuating us towards the same depth in ourselves. The effect can be hypnotic." There is always more in Anoma's paintings than meets the eye. Look long and carefully and you will be amply rewarded with a multiplicity of forms that evoke an aesthetic or ethical emotion. There is much food for thought in the gallimaufry of her innumerable observations. This is an artist who has the inner directed obsession and determination of the true artist. It is like the thread in the labyrinth, her search for metaphors to unify every series she has painted so far - she is now a serial painter par excellence. International recognition for local cartoons
Ruwan Tharaswin is attached to the 'Dinamina' and has won several first place awards at international cartoon competitions. A journey through the wild 'Encounters - A journey through the wild', a book launch and an exhibition of wildlife photographs will be held at the Harold Peiris Gallery, Lionel Wendt Colombo 7 from November 19 to 21 from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. 'Encounters - A journey through the wild' is a photographic recording of over 170 encounters with nature. These images are the work of four wildlife photographers who have had the privilege of spending time in the rich wilderness. The exhibition spans the entire country from Mannar to Kumana, Horton Plains to Sinharaja, Wilpattu to Colombo. From elephants to damselflies, leopards to lizards, monkeys to frogs, its subjects are as diverse as its locations. The photographers have made a commitment to depict the country's rich biodiversity in its true splendour. They have also educated us of the fact that wildlife photography does not only cover the larger animals such as leopards and elephants, but also encapsulates even the most delicate of insects. Encounters cover many species of birds, some of which are so rare they may be seen in an exhibition or in print for the first time in Sri Lanka. The photographers Gehan Rajapakse, Namal Kamalgoda, Palitha Antony and Sarinda Unamboowe have had vastly different life experiences but have been drawn together by one passion, the wild places of Sri Lanka. They are all well established in their professional careers and nature photography is a passionate pursuit they share. Twenty five per cent of profits of this venture will be set aside to assist in various conservation related projects thus ensuring their own contribution towards the protection to Sri Lanka's rapidly vanishing wild places. |
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Anoma's education was at Central St. Martins College of Art, London and
she has designed, painted and lectured in the UK for many years, and now
continues to teach in Colombo. Her design based work has been exhibited in
London, Frankfurt and Paris; and sold in the USA, Europe and Japan. Over
the last 10 years her paintings have been exhibited in Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, New Delhi and Brisbane as well as in Colombo, and she is planning
a solo show in Sydney in 2005.
The German Magazine 'Entwicklungs Politic' in two of its latest issues
has published two cartoons by Ruwan Tharaswin, the Sri Lankan Cartoonist
internationally renowned for his innovative creations 'Entwicklungs
Politic' published in German. 'Entwicklungs Politic' is a magazine with
the largest circulation in Germany, which highlights world politics,
environment and social problems.
