Adapting to our environments
The Faculty of Integrated Design of the Moratuwa University has always come up with innovative and novel ideas and initiatives. Their latest project- a student exchange programme done together with AEISEC, is the biggest project happening in the Sri Lankan University field at present. Under ‘The Art Project’, 26 foreign undergraduates from 12 different countries including Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Columbia are in Sri Lanka taking part in a design-based programme along with 44 local students.
Pic by Susantha Liyanawatte
This is the second time the project is taking place – last year’s programme had 22 foreign interns. The project is mentored by fashion designers Asanga Godamuna and Ravithma Gunasekara, junior Architect Pavithra Madhubasha, Creative Director Anushka Weragama and artist Chammika Jayawardene along with the Head of the Department of Integrated Design, Architect Prasanna Pitigala Liyanage and the first year coordinators of the faculty.
This year’s theme is “SPACEinBETWEEN” which is essentially about minimising the space between the body and fabric as well as the space around. In the workshops that took place, the students were given exercises to make themselves aware of the space of the body. They were taken to paddy fields where they were to cover themselves with mud to feel their skin.
“It made us realise how we should adapt to the environment more. It was a warm day and covering ourselves with mud made our bodies cooler. So we realised the clothes that we wear to protect our bodies from the environment are also making us more uncomfortable,” said 21-year-old Shashiprabha Thilekaratne, a first year student. They later painted their bodies using their bodies as fabric and then imprinted these patterns on fabric which will be later used in the final exhibition.
The project which started on July 26 will go on till September 8. An exhibition on September 2 at the University premises will bring out the theme of SPACEinBETWEEN and social issues faced by the youth. “We identified so many issues that concern the youth in society like good and bad, romance and frustration etc. Because of the culture differences between us we picked social issues that were common to many communities,” Shashiprabha said.
Architecture student Julia Olpinska from Poland has just finished her first year. “I collected money as soon as I heard about the internship and it has been totally worth it. Everyone is so nice here and the programme has been so much fun. This programme has made a lot of memories for us,” she said.
AIESEC has a membership of over 10,000 in over 125 countries and over a million alumni. “It was formed in Sri Lanka in 1995 and many of our local universities like the Universities of Kelaniya, Moratuwa and Sri Jayawardenepura are a part of this programme. Already eight students have gone to other countries only from our university,” says member of the Colombo South Local Committee of AIESEC Sachintha de Vas Gunawardene.