Sunday Times 2
A vibrant and exciting Sri Lankan art scene
That the Sri Lankan art scene is vibrant and exciting was proved once again as artists from all parts of the island showed their works at Kala Pola 2014. The event which took place last Sunday was organised by the George Keyt Foundation and the CSR unit at John Keells.
The open air art fair, which was a whole day affair this year, took place from from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. saw many families, art enthusiasts and even some curious tourists braving the heat with hats, cool cottons and sunglasses to enjoy the variety of work on display.
Art enthusiasts at Kala Pola 2014. Pic by Indika Handuwala
Amidst the many stalls with numerous paintings of familiar subjects like tuskers, elephant families and lounging leopards were some which defied the normal boundaries.
A giant, with whimsically out of proportion head sticking out of an equally whimsical car would not be appealing on a mass scale but artist and art teacher Kosala Priyam Kumara derived all his silhouettes from shadow puppetry, an art he picked up from his father. Capturing the comic element of puppetry on canvas the blue car and gigantic person “was simply an expression of my frustration with the increasing cost of fuel” he smiled.
Rows and rows of Basset Hounds either sitting or standing and even in mid-jump were the fruits of Asiri Allage’s addiction. Enjoying the detail on the coat of the breed he laughs “People have now asked me to come over to their houses and draw their dogs.”
Husband and wife duo Eranga Srimal and Shirly Ariyarathna too were among the artists showing their work. “My husband paints human forms and figures” said Shirly who exhibited her collection of happy and bright paintings for kids.
Holding a special place for the crows that inhabit populated cities, Yudaganawa from Kandy neatly nestled a motif inspired by crows in his loud abstract on city life. Defending his creation he asks “why not? The crow is a beautiful creature.”