Sunday Times 2
Let us break free from our island mentality
View(s):
The artist Chamila Gamage and some of his paintings
“As an artist, sometimes I feel that Sri Lanka might have been better off if we were still colonised,” says artist Chamila Gamage. Chamila, who has worked as an artist for over a decade, is exhibiting his current work under the theme ‘This is an island’. Aiming to raise awareness through his work, he feels that Sri Lanka’s geography affects its social environment negatively and uses his work to spread this message.
Chamila feels that Sri Lanka has what he refers to as an ‘island mentality’ because Sri Lankans are isolated from the rest of the world physically, which makes them less connected to the world in terms of ideas, although we might be open to technological and infrastructural advancements, something he feels should not be so. He uses national symbols etc. in his work to depict the fact that although Sri Lankans speak of their rich heritage often and give prominence to their national symbols, they do not always behave in accordance with what those symbols represent. His aim is to help people realize that in order to live meaningful lives, we need to overcome our ‘island mentality’ and become global citizens.
“As an artist, I feel that we as Sri Lankans need to be open to the world and open to development,” he says. ‘This is an Island’ is on at the Paradise Road Gallery Cafe from 10 a.m. to midnight daily until August 16.
