Exquisite shades of womanhood

A Lankan artist at UK's 'Migrant Artists' Show:

Jayamini de Silva, a Sri Lankan living in Newcastle, United Kingdom, exhibited her work at The Holy Biscuit Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne from June 7 to 15. The Migrant Artists' Show is a collaboration of artists of foreign origins practicing their trade in the UK.

Jayamini works with acrylic on canvas, ink on rice, stone colours on silk replicating 'agony and ecstasy in the lives of women'. For this exhibition, she produced 18 pieces of artworks mainly based on a 'Peacock' theme all using acrylic on canvas.

Her reasons for the Peacock theme: "In history, myth, legend and lore, the Peacock symbolism carries portents of: Nobility, Holiness, Guidance, Protection and Watchfulness. The beautiful and dramatic tail plumage of the peacock has made it a symbol of majesty and divinity in many cultures. It also represents benevolence, patience, kindness, compassion, good luck, prosperity, beauty and peace, and is considered generally to be a good omen."

Peacocks are said to have the ability of consuming poisonous plants and venomous snakes, which makes colours of their plumage all the more vibrant and beautiful, just as those who conquer the evils of a poisonous mind from greed, hatred, attachment, desire, lust and rage (lobha, dvesha, moha, ragha, kaama and krodha) achieve path of liberation and purity.

Jayamini was born and brought up in Ambalangoda and studied at Dharmashoka College. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Chinese art and Calligraphy from Chinese Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Beijing and her Masters degree in Art Conservation at University of Northumbria, UK. Jayamini served as a lecturer in Modern languages at Kelaniya University and Department of Fine Art at University of Peradeniya. She was the illustrator of the highly circulated 'Child Abuse' poster produced by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA).

Currently as well as being a practicing artist, she teaches Asian Art, including Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic and Chinese art in primary and secondary schools and adult learning centres in and around North-East England.

Expressing her views Jayamini says, "I am happy to fly the flag for the mother country at any given time. My work consisting of a combination of feminist as well as Asian cultural values seems to be attracting a lot of positive sentiments and great reviews. Somewhere in the near future, I'm looking at exhibiting my work in Sri Lanka".

Kindness ‘Living in human society, people often quarrel with one another. When such conflicts occur, people often keep thinking about the wrongs done to them by others. When that happens, their anger tends to grow. But in those who forgive and forget the wrongs done to them, anger quickly vanishes. They are then at peace’.

Compassion ‘ Do not find fault with others. Do not worry about what others do or not do. Rather, look within yourself to find out what you yourself have done or left undone. Stop doing evil; do good.’

Adore ‘Expressions replete with thousands of words are of no value. One single meaningful word is more valuable, if hearing it one is pacified.’