Sri Lankan artist exhibits work at ‘Migrant Artists’ show
View(s):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 -15. The Migrant Artists’ Show is a collaboration of artists of foreign origin practising their trade in the UK.
One of Jayamini’s works: ‘Tranquil’
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 artworks mainly based on a ‘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.”
Jayamini de Silva
Peacocks 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 the path of liberation and purity.
Jayamini was born and raised in Ambalangoda and studied at Dharmashoka College. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chinese art and Calligraphy from the Chinese Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) in Beijing and her Masters degree in Art Conservation at the University of Northumbria, UK. She was a lecturer in Modern languages at Kelaniya University and the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Peradeniya. She was the illustrator of the highly circulated ‘Child Abuse’ poster produced by the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA).
Currently 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. Jayamini who looks forward to holding an exhibition in Sri Lanka soon is happy that her 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.
-Aruna Udawatte