Connecting through art
View(s):A group exhibition of graduates from the University of Jaffna is now on in Colombo. Mentored by curator and founder of Raking Leaves, Sharmini
S. Hanusha-Tea Stain II
Pereira, and Jaffna’s leading contemporary artist, Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, these works have been curated over one year with an aim to connect the emerging art scene of the north east with the more established scenes of the south west of the island.
This follows the exhibition Mobile Library, a collaboration between the Asia Art Archive and Raking Leaves in 2013.
The series of works by seven graduates living and working in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Hatton and Puttalam confront socio-political themes in mediums ranging from paper work, video installation to interactive work with a focus on found objects that create a tangible element to the concepts of memory, displacement, locality and place. In an art scene that views a majority of social and political work from a majority viewpoint of artists based in the Western, Central and Southern Province, this exhibition presents a turning point in the development of the contemporary art scene islandwide.
The exhibition will be on display at the Saskia Fernando Gallery, 41 Horton Place, Colombo 7, until July 23, open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
P. Pushpakanthan-self portrait