An artist not only to watch but also to collect
View(s):“Inequality” at the Paradise Road Gallery
By Royston Ellis
It’s not often one goes to an art exhibition in Sri Lanka and realises one is in the presence of an extraordinary talent, even if at the embryo stage. The paintings of Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan on display at the Paradise Road Gallery shone out of the sombre cloisters almost shouting “come and look at me.” This effect was prominent in the distinctive triangular paintings with their bright colours and dancing furniture, concealing a disturbing undertone.
Each of those paintings commanded attention and I could imagine what a talking point they would create in a new apartment in a fashionable city block. Commentators on Pushpakanthan’s work suggest his paintings contain allusions to – and reflect – the trauma of growing up in Jaffna (he was born in 1989) during turbulent times. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art and design at the University of Jaffna in 2014. He has exhibited in several group shows and this one, open until September 14, is his first major solo exhibition in a prestigious gallery.
While people at the exhibition chatted about the artist’s “message” (and he even did so himself when explaining a painting to a prospective purchaser) to me the paintings were intriguing because of the combination of artistic talent and technique. What thoughts inspired them should be the artist’s secret, not to be explained. His message might not be what you want to hang in your living room, but as a work of art, these creations are compelling and, indeed, collectable.
Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan
Within an hour of the preview opening, five paintings had been sold, not at street prices but at premium gallery rates, at about Rs. 95,000 each. With an eye to the future of this young artist, I wish I had bought one too. But I want to wait because I sense his talent is going to blossom with more lyrical work as the trauma of his youth dissipates.
He already has his own recognisable style, with paintings that are themselves triangles and the triangular blank spaces that creep into other works. Unsettling images within the triangles are the almost human shapes that flit about with evil intention, offset with touches of the macabre with shells like marching flowers parading over a stream of fishes, some of which float ominously upside down.
In a booklet produced for the exhibition, Pushpakanthan says that he uses the triangle to symbolise riots, war and the stolen past. For him a triangle reflects the pyramid of power and democracy, which he sees as encouraging inequality. “Inequality” is the title of this exhibition and some of his paintings are entitled “Unfairness” while he hasn’t bothered to title some others, leaving it to us to decide. With his images of familiar objects oddly portrayed, like a bandaged bed or cavorting chairs, Pushpakanthan is reflecting the disturbing spirit that inspires his art.
It was not only Pushpakanthan’s intriguing triangles that fascinated me, for this artist seems to have other styles too. There were some black framed boxes hanging on one wall which revealed a filigree creation of canvas through which one could gaze, like peeping through a net curtain, at images within. One creation was cut to resemble a map of Sri Lanka and I could imagine the artist developing that style as a dynamic way of conveying his feelings about this country.
Dark moods were on display too. An almost black painting reveals, after rapt attention, a raptor, lurking on a branch and in terrifying control as it both emerges from and merges into the background. Less alarming were the artist’s smaller pen and ink drawings. One of them is placed beyond the courtyard on the inside wall of the bar, almost where no one can see it. Perhaps that’s deliberate as its message is surely sexual. There are pairs of naked torsos without heads presented as single shapes in rather beautiful formation. The drawing is vibrant with movement and exultation as trumpets seem to sound off stage.
Shanth Fernando, the Gallery owner, has introduced Sri Lanka to so many modern things, including a boutique lifestyle with his emporiums of items of good taste, and he continues to dazzle the public with new discoveries. Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan is one of them and an artist, not only to watch but also to collect, especially as he looks to the brightness of hope in the future.
“Inequality” by Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan, Paradise Road Galleries, 2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 3; exhibition open daily until September 14.