Arts
Unmasking a uniquely Lankan feature
“Sri Lankan masks are a unique feature of our culture,” says Danushi De Silva. For her it is one of the cultural elements that has a link to the history of the country in pre-colonial and colonial times.
In her debut photography exhibition, ‘Masks of Sri Lanka: The Face to Face Communication’, her aim is to promote Sri Lanka and its traditional culture among the students and academic community at the University of California at Irvine. Her collection of photographs featuring various traditional masks is currently on display at the Viewpoint Gallery, University of California at Irvine and she shared her thoughts via e-mail with the Sunday Times Magazine.
Danushi De Silva at the exhibition held at the University of California at Irvine
Majoring in International Studies and Sociology, Danushi who will graduate in Spring 2019 is presenting her exhibition on ‘Masks of Sri Lanka’ as one of her research studies under global and international studies.
Around 90 pictures of Kolam and Sanni masks captured by Danushi are seen in the exhibition which was opened on April 29 and ends today. Along with the photographs, the actual masks of Gara Yaka, Naga Raksha, Rathnakuta Raksha, Gini Jala Raksha and Maura Raksha are on display.
Emphasizing the importance of knowing our cultural roots, Danushi found that not many Sri Lankans are aware of the rich history of this cultural aspect. “I was interested in finding out the functions and purpose of the masks. There are students from Sri Lanka studying at the University, but who are not aware of the history of the masks in Sri Lanka. This is one way to bring the Sri Lankan culture to them as well as to the others at the University,” she said.
The theme of the exhibition, ‘The Face to Face Communication’ itself is significant. Danushi defines it as the social interaction between two faces- one is a mask – the other is human.
A keen amateur photographer, she finds delight in capturing even a simple interesting element she sees in society and interprets the exhibition to be more of a project aligned with visual anthropology, an aspect of folk culture examined through photography. “Also I wanted to relate my hobby to one of my research projects at the University,” she says.
The masks featured are from the Colombo National Museum, Ariyapala Mask Museum in Ambalangoda and the Puppet Museum in Dehiwala. A booklet ‘Masks of Sri Lanka’ compiled by Danushi with the details of the masks conveys the history and the legends behind the Kolam, Sanni and Raksha masks.