Fashion Week makes a splash on canvas
View(s):Colombo Fashion Week began this year on a very different beat. The prologue to Sri Lanka’s biggest fashion event saw the Land Rover Showroom down Flower Road transformed for the evening into an art gallery. CFW Frame was a clear celebration of the diversity of art. Set on either side of the showroom, the night’s collections were the work of two rising young artists: Kavan Balasuriya and P413.
P413 engrossed in his art
Against the sharp white of the showroom, Kavan’s monochrome collection seemed right at home. A series chronicling the young artist’s progress, starting from his first exhibition, his pieces commanded the viewer’s attention to their three dimensional elements and fine technique, blending into a soothing yet heavily complex frame.
P413 on the other side of the showroom confronted the viewer with an explosion of colour, the unassuming artist offering a live demonstration of his work. Headphones on and lost in the process, the quirky, self taught painter found the inspiration for his featured collection from the view of his desk at work. Titled “Cubicle Warrior”, the loud, vibrant pieces reflected his penchant for graffiti and street art. A humourlessly relatable look at the corporate rat race, robotic minions morphed on psychedelic canvases capturing his carefree, gritty vision while staring back with their haunting yellow, story teller eyes. -P.P.
