On the rocks

Two miles from Kegalle Town centre, on the Colombo-Kandy Road, just past the turn off to the Elephant Village at the Molagoda junction is a small road-side stand. Rough shelving displays are loaded with stone elephants, horses, frogs, turtles, birds and art nouveau interpretations of crocodiles and fish. White flowers float in rock pools. And a statue of god Ganesh sits serenely surveying the traffic as it screeches past. All these are the work of one man - W.P. Premadasa.

Premadasa studied the art of stone carving at the feet of guru Martin of Molagoda. It took him many years to perfect the technique, and he says with a wry smile that when he began carving, his work comprised mainly tomb stones, "miris gal", rice pounders, and other mundane articles.

Today he has given full flight to his artistic and technical abilities and he creates interesting pieces of stone carving. The appeal and charm of Premadasa's work is that it is inspired by "apey ratey thiyene dewhal" (things in our country). His choice of subject matter-elephants, turtles, pahan (oil lamps), mortars and pestles, Buddha heads and Hindu gods bear ample evidence of this source.

Animal figures are carved in clean, simple lines. For the rock pools he has chosen to preserve a hint of the original shape of the piece of stone.

His feel for the stone, the simplicity of his approach, the choice of his source of inspiration, make each piece not only a beautiful carving but also a commentary on Sri Lankan culture.

Hamlets in earthy harmony

By Mrinali Thalgodapitiya

Channa Ekanayake's commitment to and concern for the environment has led him out of Colombo and its suburbs to remote places in the island. In many small villages and hamlets, he observed the simple local huts that literally grew out of the ground, in harmony with their surroundings. He was deeply moved by the uniqueness of the dwellings which were often constructed by the dweller himself using natural, recyclable materials readily available from the surrounding environment, in his own words "coming from the earth".

These wattle and daub, stone, or brick walled houses often thatched with traditionally woven coconut fronds have inspired Channa to create a collection of paintings which he titles "Dwellings".

He speaks with fascination of houses he had seen in Eppawela which were contructed using the device of "belli Patta" (a type of rope) where there was not a single nail in the wall frames. In another house he saw a hole cut into the floor next to a door and on inquiry was told that was the sleeping place for the family dog, so complete was the sensitivity of the occupants to the notion of dwellers of that house!

Also, the proportions of the dwellings themselves reflected the influence of the proportions of the human figure in their construction. Windows were at eye level, doorways were man-sized, the dwellers' perspective evident in every angle.

To portray the simplicity and charm of these dwellings on canvas, Channa has naturally chosen earth tones using two key colours: brown (ranging from tones of yellow ochre to sienna) and ultramarine! His use of the blue tones in his work is so skilful and natural, it virtually eludes the eye! Lining up his gorgeously rich paintings, he points out how brown colours appear best against a blue background.

The overall effect is so compelling that one can almost sense the coolness of the interiors and the lime-earth smell of the walls.

He credits much of his perception of proportion and sensitivity to tonal variation to his teacher, Dora Tomulic-Aluwihare, who he says encourages a student's individual style and interpretation without impressing upon them her own. She makes a study of the masterpieces of Art History and points out the facets which make them so. She teaches how to judge a good painting: a painting should be more than decorative or illustrative or narrative, which are more qualities of literature, a painting should belong to the realm of harmony.

His use of texture enhances his work. Channa has paid great attention to this aspect of his work and experimented with different combinations of media to achieve the textures of surfaces, stones and walls. Unusually he uses acrylic (which is water based) on the oil surface, exploiting their very opposite characteristics to create an impression of patches and patterns on walls and stones when the acrylic dries on the oil.

In the preparation of the surface of the canvas he has also, on occasion, applied sand and other granular substances to give a grainy, porous type base for his paint.

"Texture is like an ornament," he says, "format is the main thing." Placing of the subject matter within a painting is crucial.

Like every good artist he pays careful attention to the very fundamentals of great art: the Golden Section Rule and the concept of connecting lines. These bring harmony to a painting as do rhythm and metre to a poem.

Kala korner by DeeCee

Rare oldies

The Weeramunis - Namel and Malini - big names in the Sinhala theatre in the 1960s - are back ('for good', they say) after a long stint abroad. Being very much wedded to the theatre, they are ready with new productions of two of the most popular one act plays - 'Golu Birinda' and 'Kora Saha Andhaya' - staged in the late sixties.

The plays will feature seasoned players who have made a name for themselves in theatre over the past few decades - Namel & Malini themselves and Daya Tennakoon and Grace Ariyawimal.

The plays will start their run with two performances on July 14 and 15 at the Lumbini Theatre.

Namel is clear in his intentions to revive these plays. "We have formed an Arts Circle. Our objective is to gear its energy towards making each and every performance a memorable theatrical experience and creating a colourful evening with the intention of bringing back popular old plays and theatre to the limelight once again. This will give an opportunity for the new generation to see what was done in the heyday of Sinhala theatre," he says.

Namel's contribution to the theatre has been significant. Having been closely associated with Professor Sarachchandra since his Peradeniya university days, he made a name for himself as a writer, producer/director and actor. Starting with 'Virupa' in 1963, he produced 'Samaka Bujang Penala Gihin' and 'Golu Birinda' in 1967 followed by 'Vanshakkarayo' (1969) and 'Nettukkari' (1970). Kora Saha Andhaya' which he is directing this time was originally done by Dhamma Jagoda in 1968.

While abroad, Namel was quite involved with theatre. He did much to publicise Sinhala theatre outside Sri Lanka. In London, he presented 'Nettukkari',becoming the first Sri Lankan to write and produce a Sinhala drama on the Western stage.

When he produced Dr. Sarachchandra's popular plays, 'Rattaran' and 'Elova Gihin Melova Ava', the plays drew packed houses at the Tricycle Theatre, Kilburn. Encouraged by the response, Namel got down Dr. Sarachchandra with his immortal classic, 'Maname' to London and had a successful run for four days at the prestigious Mermaid Theatre at the West End.

While doing his Master's in Theatre at the University of California, he translated Dr. Sarachchandra's 'Sinhabahu' into English and staged it with an American cast. In fact, the translation was put out as a Sarasavi publication two years ago and won an annual Sahitya Award.

Theatre-lovers will look forward to Namel's comeback with delight.

For the serious student

It's heartening to see good reading material in Sinhala for the serious student of cinema.

The National Film Corporation's quarterly 'Sadisi' is one such regular publication. (It's put out as a quarterly publication). 'Cinesith', the Asian Film Centre publication is another.

The latest issue of 'Cinesith' is a combined one - the 41 and 42 issues.

Edited by the man known for his silent service in promoting Sinhala films at an international level, Ashley Ratnavishushana, the recent issue cover a number of interesting subjects including reviews of recent films and introducing talented filmmakers

Sounds of young performers in concert

The Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka will hold its annual Young Performers Concert on Saturday July 14 at 7 p.m. at the Ladies College Hall. The Young Performers featured this year are Thushani Jayawardena - violin and Rasika Perera - cello.

On the programme are Bruch's Violin Concerto, Lalo's Cello Concerto, Glinka's Overture Russlan and Ludmilla and Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite No.1. The conductor will be Ananda Dabare.

Max Bruch (1838-1920), German composer and conductor was born in Cologne. Though Bruch wrote the first sketches for his popular Violin Concerto Op. 26, as early as 1857, he did not complete the work until 1866.

The soloist, Thushani Jayawardena, started her musical career on the violin at the age of six, under the guidance of Ananda Dabare. She continues her violin studies with him while studying piano and singing with Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu.

She has been a regular prize winner in violin, piano and singing at the Royal Schools and Trinity College of Music. In 1996 she joined the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka as a 1st Violinist and appeared as a soloist in the Young Performers' Concert at the age of 12 playing Bach's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor.

(Victor Antoine) Edouard Lalo (1823-92), is a French composer, whose work is noted for the richness and clarity of its orchestration and for its melodic charm. His compositions include Violin Concerto in F Major (1874); Symphonie Espagnole (performed 1875), for violin and orchestra, a vibrant, concerto-style work; Symphony in G Minor (1887), the most successful of Lalo's purely orchestral works; and the opera Le roi d'Ys (1888), based on Breton folklore.

Lalo composed his Concerto for cello and orchestra in 1876. Rashika Perera, the soloist in this performance, began her musical studies at the age of six and has completed the Advanced Certificate Examination in Pianoforte of the Royal Schools of Music. She is at present a pupil of Ramya de Livera Perera.

Her studies on the cello began in 1994 under the guidance of Dushyanthi Perera and she has completed Grade 8 of the Royal Schools of Music obtaining a distinction.

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804-57), is a Russian composer, born in Novospasskoye, and educated in Saint Petersburg.

- Dr. Lalith Perera

Dense strokes bring out deep emotion

By Eranda Jayawickreme

Amaresh Pereira held his second exhibition of compositions and portraits from June 22 to 29, at the auditorium of the Alliance Francaise de Kandy. A 23-year-old former Trinitian, Pereira has devoted himself passionately to his art for the past five years, and the paintings exhibited bore witness to a deeply emotional, dense style that could be said to be a hallmark of his work. However, they were also the paintings of a young man with a clear vision, whose step- and brush- had never been surer.

The themes that Pereira dealt with in the exhibited compositions are those that may be said to mould the human condition: religion, morality and emotion. A staunch Christian, Pereira believes in a multi-religious ecumenism, which centres on the belief of Christian redemption. This belief is the basis of the paintings "Out of the deep I call you to God"and "The 21st century Christ"- where he uses the Buddhist "Shad Varna Rashmiya" to both depict the fact that all religions spring from the same well of righteousness and that they, in his view, come together to form the corporate Christ. He is also deeply affected by the conflict that carries on incessantly in this country, as his stark depiction of the 1999 Ampara massacre testifies.

However, he is not blind to the equally compelling themes of love and passion, and "The Surrender" effectively and simply portrays the undeniable power that the female of the species holds over the male through the simple image of a body diving into the naked torso of a woman. Much of his early work was downbeat and pessimistic, with personal anguish and suicide being predominant themes; yet the work at this exhibition exhibited a certitude and self-belief previously unseen in his creations.

He is also an accomplished portrait artist, and many of his recent efforts were on display. Notable among them were those of two Kandyan drummers, his "best friend" and the writer Carl Muller. Not without humility, Pereira believes that his ability as a portrait artist has only been partially fulfilled.

Given his evident talent, it is surprising that Pereira did not take painting seriously until 1996, when he entered into and won a replicate painting competition organized by the Alliance Francaise. He then resolved to work towards staging an exhibition of his work, but it took the bombing of the Dalada Maligawa in 1998 for him to create his first composition- an arresting image of the destroyed temple flanked by Christ's outraged hands and with burning eyes of hatred super-imposed in the middle. He also started experimenting with oils during this period.

When questioned about influences, Pereira cited the shadows of Raphael, the use of light by Salvador Dali and the characters of Mudliyar Amarasekara. The music of Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi- as well as New-Age music and hip-hop- were also mentioned as facilitators for his themes and creativity. A notable feature of his recent work is the use of dark colours, which give his work depth as well as enhancing his ability to focus on light within darkness.

Since his first exhibition in January last year, Pereira has been gradually widening his horizons in the art world. He participated at the Kala Pola this year and won a Merit Award at the recently concluded Young Contemporaries' Exhibition held at the National Art Gallery. Following this exhibition, he intends to stage one in Colombo before the end of the year, and open an exhibit of work based on the ideas of the French priest Teihard de Chardin in Kandy next year.

Pereira has developed his talents against great odds.It is indeed strange that he was not pushed into utilizing his talents until his late teens-, and his devotion to art in the face of many problems exhibits strength of character that can only be envied by others. The despair that he must have felt when he was attempting to assert himself as an artist can only be guessed at.

A self-portrait that was exhibited at his first exhibition comes to mind: the melancholic visage is lined with tracks of blood. Such are the tribulations that artists must endure; yet going by the self-confidence of the work presented at this exhibition, one may venture to say that Pereira has gone much of the way towards surmounting them.

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