Sunday Times 2
New style for veteran artist
View(s):Jayasiri Semage’s latest exhibition will be held from September 13 – 21 at the Semage Art Gallery, No 3, Lilian Avenue, Mount Lavinia. Among the most senior artists in the country, Jayasiri Semage has evolved a few independent styles in his journey in Oriental art. Even though his heritage is the Ajanta-Sigiri style he has had some influence from Chinese Oriental art and even from the Western schools.
Jayasiri Semage
However he had earlier conformed to the universally accepted norms of proportions of human and animal figures. This was probably because he had a large clientele among the Buddhist public for whom he created highly educational, pictorial narratives and meditationally inspired line essays.
However now that he has acquired much experience and international feedback, his style has taken a new turn. “I thought I would also do some experiments to change my style. Yet I have to be sure that it would be a step forward,” he says.
How has this new style merged? Perhaps self-analysis seems to have convinced Semage that creating decorative motifs by manipulating rhythmic creepers with stylised foliage and flowers is his special talent. He has shown an extraordinary mastery in rhythmic curves in the liyawela and incorporating traditional ornamental symbols like galbindu etc into it. He was perhaps aware that ancient Lankan artists had incorporated living creatures into liyawelas. With such inspiration he has experimented to see how he could make his entire pictures get immersed in the liyawela rhythm. To make this real, he had to give up traditionally inherited rules of discipline in maintaining proportion in human and animal figures.
Semage has done it using water colours and oils on canvas. He has moved away from the rules of proportion and projected his visualization of the rhythm of life into liyawela making it his new frame and form. They are still line drawings displaying features of Sri Lankan tradition though lacking proportion – with the liyawela motif dominant.
Sri Lankan art lovers can see his latest work at his new exhibition.
-Prof. Chandima Wijebandara