arts

Visual manifestation of inner soul

Scintillation by Namal Jayasinghe:

by Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Namal Jayasinghe has manifested an unmistakable penchant for expressing her soul through the medium of painting. Incorporation of abstract elements into her creation, perhaps, is her forte. Her diction in painting is poetic with a signature combination of colours that marked her footprints on remarkably different paintings. Her paintings are enriched in metaphor and insightful in depiction, capturing multiple perspectives of subject at hand.

Scintillation, an exhibition of paintings by Namal Jayasinghe will be held from January 6 to February 5 at American Centre, Colombo. Namal's painting is dominated by motifs of abstract paintings though there are human figures. Over the years she has developed her unique style which is characterised by selection of colours and their sparing use to express her inner soul through a pictorial diction. One of her paintings, two models shows her signature characteristics.

Here, two women are depicted against a smudged background which looks like a wall frequently used to paste posters. Women are clad in white and seem to be in an indifferent mood. She has primarily used yellow, red and green for the painting. Even in this painting, it is manifested presence of abstract element especially in the background which is smudged with green, red and also black. A very little emotion has been portrayed as the facial expression of the women is almost blank, signifying total indifference.

However, Tara contrasts to the two women. Here, she uses green, red and yellow and the figure of Tara is painted with green. Behind Tara is a yellow triangle in a red circle and outer circle is once again green. The cross-legged Tara sits on a red floor which gradually merges with red circle. The predominant green draws the focus of the viewers on the figure Tara. However, the attention is disturbed by red floor and the red circle.

Tara here is depicted in a meditative mood betraying no emotions. One of the significant aspects of this painting is that it evokes no strong emotions. However, the sublime happiness in the figure Tara has been well captured and the use of contrasting effect of diverse colours on the viewers has been taken into account when drawing the painting. Lotus upon which Tara sits is depicted insignificantly so as to focus on the figure Tara.

Nymph 1 and Nymph 2 are painted with bright colours such as red, yellow and green. The centre of Nymph 1 is a woman in white against the backdrop of smudged colours. Red, green, grey, white and yellow have been used for the background. Although woman's figure is prominently displayed, like in her other paintings, the face of the woman betrays no emotions. It is, once again, the indifference which is displayed. Here also the painter has incorporated abstract elements into the creation. Perhaps, it is the femininity which is portrayed here.

For Nymph 2, Namal has used dark colours such as dark blue and grey. Contrasting to Nymph 1, here the background is rather bleak. The background is dominated by blue with white patches at intervals. The figure is clad in blue and grey frock and the bust is painted with yellow and grey. Since both figures display no emotions, the women figures in the paintings seem to be abstract in nature.

Celebration is an abstract painting. Blue strips looked like strip of cloths hanging down from strings are hung against the background of black and white. It is a common sight that diverse celebrations are marked with flags of different hues. Since the light and the dark blue used for the hanging strips belong to no specific occasion, it makes the painting universally applicable to any celebration be it for happy or sad one. Here, Namal has captured the fundamental nature of abstract painting which is a universal applicability and depiction of diverse perspectives.

Another example of her mastery in abstract painting is 'Music in my ears'. Here, diverse pitches and sound waves are depicted in terms of triangles of different shapes and sizes in red and green against the back drop of white and grey.

The sharpness of tonality is portrayed through the sheer manipulation of degree of colours in triangles.

The painting 'Tara Transience' portrays the religious figure Tara from diverse perspectives and the evolution of the figure in diverse cultures.

Although Tara is an important figure in Mahayana tradition of Buddhism, there is no uniformity in depiction of Tara. It is often culture and region specific. Namal has portrayed this aspect through Tara in transience. The abstract 'Anticipation' is an interesting painting as the painter tries to capture the idea through the mixture of colours. The exhibition offers remarkable collection of paintings of a promising young painter whose works would stand tall in the arena of Fine Arts in Sri Lanka.

A perfect-hair-day

by Sajitha PREMATUNGE

Pix:Chinthaka Kumarasinghe

Ever had a bad-hair-day? Then you know how important that perfect shampoo, conditioner and not to mention that perfect hairdresser is. On top of it all how would you feel if you were able to learn from the best of the best in the business? Sounds too good to be true doesn't it. This is what Ramani aspires to do with Ramani Fernando Sunsilk Hair Academy.

The Ramani Fernando Sunsilk Hair Academy with a three-year-old track record is complete with top notch facilities and a sound curriculum. Sunsilk and the Academy has joined hands to transform the definition of a contemporary hairdresser says Saumya Perera, Sansilk Brand Manager for Unilever. Out of the 145 students who have so far graduated from the Ramani Fernando Sunsilk Hair Academy, Sunsilk has provided full scholarships to 64 students. While some of the students have found opportunities in one of the ten Ramani Fernando Salons in Kandy and Colombo, some others have established similar businesses of their own or have found job opportunities overseas.

Unilever and Sunsilk together with Ramani Fernando are bent on helping entrepreneurs make their mark in the industry of hairdressing. Its objective is to help newcomers to explore creativity while educating them on how to get along in the world of business. Sunsilks's new motto Life can't wait reflects their attempt to empower the young generation by educating them on personal grooming and providing career advancement possibilities like this very venture.

"The Academy has helped me to go beyond the basics", says Sumudu Kumarasiri, batch top, and claims that learning from the best has truly changed her life. "When I first came to the Academy, I knew nothing about haircuts or hair styles. But the Academy has helped me to become an expert on the subject." Sumudu has opened her own salon and it seems like business is booming.

Four batches of the Academy are soon due to make their debut in a fabulous graduation ceremony, full of grandeur, on January 27, in Galadari. Senaka de Silva, after a considerable absence from the scene, has come back to make this event a success as Producer and Choreographer. "With four totally different segments by the four batches, this show is bound to be sensational." This red carpet event will include four segments, based on completely contrasting themes, as he explains. "The inspiration for the first segment is flowers. And there will be a Techno session for the clubbing people. The inspiration for the third segment will be 40s actresses." Last but not the least; the final session will make use of fantasy items. He vouches that this show, with over 60 models; hairdressers - top in the business - the glamour and the whole nine yards, will be a blast.

Enchanting open-air art fair

Kala Pola 2009:

by Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Kala Pola modelled on the open-air Summer Art Fairs in European capitals has over the years set precedence in Sri Lanka to celebrate marvels of creativity under the canopy of giant trees along the street of Ananda Kumaraswamy Mawatha. The abundant tropical sunshine and the atmosphere filled with art makes Kala Pola a unique event where artistes, sculptures and cartoonists converge to celebrate their creativity. Over the years, Kala Pola has created an unbiased platform for budding artists to launch a career and to meet the stakeholders in the field of arts. It is a levelled arena where established artists as well as budding artists showcase their creations demonstrating, among other things, the abundance of creativity that Sri Lankans are endowed with.

The much - awaited open-air art gallery and art fair, Kala Pola will commence at 10.00 a.m. on January 25 along the leafy street of Ananda Kumaraswamy Mawatha. Kala Pola, a concept developed by the George Keyt Foundation is held under the patronage of John Keells Group for the 16th consecutive year.

The enchanting open-air art gallery cum art fair has been attracting art lovers from around the globe offering it as an ill-afford-to-miss event for artists from diverse parts of the country. It has become a unique event in the art calendar of Sri Lanka where over 250 artists and sculptors converge to celebrate the marvels of art.

In addition to offering much-needed opportunity for budding artists to sharpen and demonstrate their talents, it has become a focal point for art lovers from diverse parts of the globe.