A colourful jigsaw puzzle of cloth
You could be forgiven for making the obvious mistake of looking at the works of Kumari Adikari from afar and thinking they are paintings. But look closely and you will find that it is not brush strokes that constitute her work, but cloth. As she felt calling it a painting would not do justice to this new form of art which is done by stitches and cloth alone, Kumari has come up with her own name for it. “Jig Colouration” is what she calls this technique crafted painstakingly, with only the use of cloth and stitches on canvas.
Kumari Adikari. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera
Hailing from a family of artists, creative ideas seem to run in her blood. Kumari’s parents graduated from The College of Fine Arts, Colombo and so not surprisingly her early toys were crayons and pencils. To this day she is fascinated by vibrant colours.
“I first held a paint brush when I was barely two years old and there on, the passion for art within me grew day by day,” she smiles. She describes “Jig Colouration” as an exquisite impressionistic form of realism. It comprises different coloured fabric put together using stitches to form a beautiful picture, one by one like a jigsaw puzzle: from which “Jig Colouration” derives its name. Every single piece of fabric requires careful cutting and stitching.
Kumari studied art under veteran artist Sarath Soorasena and later gained admission to JJ School of Applied Art which is affiliated to the University of Bombay. During her stay in Bombay she gained an insight into the many different forms of art. “People sometimes mistake Jig Colouration for patchwork. The scope of patchwork is limited.”
This young artist has held four solo exhibitions, her first being in 1999. Her latest exhibition was held on August 24 and 25 this year at the Lionel Wendt, on the theme of “Sri Lanka in the 1800s” depicting the architecture of that era and modes of transport.
“It takes nearly three months to do a complete, detailed landscape which calls for patience and a steady hand. First the cloth has to be cut, pinned in place and finally stitched together. My passion for it is what keeps me going and finally when at an exhibition my works are recognised and valued, the ultimate satisfaction which it brings is what drives me on,” Kumari says.
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