Changing cultures in the city
In the mayhem of Pettah, Chinthaka Thenuwara meets the mighty Blade Raja. He’s intrigued, as Blade Raja is actually a shoemaker amongst hundreds like him in this consumer capital of the country. On further investigation, it’s revealed that this is actually his street name; christened by the police for his tendency to ‘cut people up’ in his young days, Blade Raja is now a grandfather sleeping in his cart at night because his house is overrun by 15 grandchildren. This is what Chinthaka loves about Pettah-“you can bump into literally anyone”.
His enthusiasm is infectious; next weekend, the Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA) will open the doors to ‘Pettah Exposé’, an artist’s perspective of the changing cultures in the city.
Pic by M.A.Pushpakumara
This is part one of the Nomad Travel Project series, the group’s newest undertaking “for the love of travel,” says Poornima Jayasinghe. It’s also perhaps the most fitting with CoCA’s mission to make art accessible to the common man. The project is actually beautiful in its simplicity; CoCA will travel to locations around the country, spending a month in an area of their choosing and painting what they see-and don’t see anymore. The running theme is ‘Changing Patterns of Culture’ and Poornima says “it’s interesting to find out how things have changed over the years and to bring that to life with our work.”
The very first undertaking was of course, Pettah, not least for its status as the consumer hub of the nation. “There is no race, caste distinction here,” Chinthaka smiles. “It’s impossible not to find that inspiring as an artist.” Together with Layla Gonaduwa, Branka Ridicky and Lakshika Fernando, Poornima and Chinthaka set out to explore the little nooks and crevices of Pettah this July.
The artists go to Pettah to stock up on supplies quite often, but this time they wanted to really absorb Pettah. It was more than interesting, even dangerous! Pettah more than lived up to its reputation. “There are these vendors we met who have been there for decades,” says Poornima. “It’s all they know.” In their own way these individuals knew more about the city than a guidebook ever would and the CoCA artists found that a blessing in disguise. “Our task was to present the changing culture of Pettah,” says Layla Gonaduwa. “And to do that, we needed a first-hand account of how Pettah was decades ago.”
Chinthaka himself remembers a little from when he was young and obsessed with electronics. “First Cross Street was where it was at for me,” he smiles. This is why he’s pretty nostalgic about the installation piece he’s done for the exhibition-it’s a hybrid of the cross streets of Pettah intricately carved onto a black cardboard box structure and lit from within. The shadow play of the light box is symbolic of the Pettah we know by day and the very different city it is at night.
Layla is usually to be found working with metal and melted glass but for this exhibition she’s working with paint. “It’s been a while,” she says. “But the subject matter is very inspiring.” Some of her works are big boards interspersed with a network of road signs and some are photographs painted over with her art. She’s using door hinges to bind some of these together and in a way these also symbolize new beginnings for Layla. Poornima perhaps explains it best when she says “Pettah is a place of opportunity. People go there for new beginnings, and most of the time they just never leave.”
The exhibition is not all about the visuals. Julius Mitchell’s job is to give you a piece of Pettah right in the ear. The 23-year-old beatboxer has held audiences enrapt with his layered technique but this particular one is a whole new challenge. “Pettah is so in your face,” he explains. “There are a ridiculous number of different sounds that come together to make that uniquely Pettah noise.” So how will Julius compose a soundtrack for Pettah? He plans to do something he likes to call an auditory illusion where he’ll basically be layering one consistent beat with a number of others. Julius’ challenge is in keeping up a consistent beat for almost half an hour-you’ll find him at the opening, so make sure to pay a visit.
There’s one particular piece at the exhibition that’s bound to catch your eye for its familiarity. A black box with stickers so colourful and descriptive they can only be found in two places-on buses and tuk tuks. Poornima’s work is in a league of its own and she knows that with this particular piece she has captured Pettah’s essence -flashy, exuberant, dangerous, loud, diverse and amidst all that – united. This exhibition has Pettah on a plate-the artists can never hope to capture everything that makes it unique, but they’ve done a pretty good job helping you fill in the gaps.
Pettah Exposé happens from August 8 to 10 from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. at the Old Town Hall, Main Street, Pettah. All are welcome.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus