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Arts

Looking at us from outside
By Esther Williams
Dutch artist Maaike Van Baal's exhibition scheduled to be held at the Artists' Gallery, Nugegoda between December 25 and 28 reflects her experiences in Sri Lanka. Various aspects of life and culture that made an impact on her are uniquely depicted from her own perspective.

As part of her course requirement during her final year in an art school in Nymegen (The Netherlands), Maaike needed work experience in something other than art.
The organisation she approached sent her to Sri Lanka to work as a volunteer at the Vajira orphanage, Pitakotte.

The three months she spent there, teaching English and engaging children in play, she enjoyed thoroughly. As for the children, they had a marvellous time for she would take them to the rooftop to paint the sunset. Not having enough brushes did not pose a problem. "I showed them how they could use their hands," she says, pleased with the very creative artwork that developed.

"I wanted to teach them that they could use anything to do something." Clay lying amongst the building material in their premises was thus used to make sculpture. She hopes that she has in some way contributed towards enhancing their creativity.
Having met artist S.H. Sarath at one of his exhibitions Maaike spent all her free time painting at his gallery. The forthcoming exhibition will feature 20 paintings of various sizes done in acrylic and oils.

Maaike's concern for the environment is obvious. All the mineral water bottles she has used are glued together with tape to make long vines/creepers. These will be wrapped around a tree at the Gallery, similar to ones we see around. "Like the vines that choke the trees, so also will our plastic and garbage destroy nature," she says.

Snakes, lizards and crows she came across in the orphanage premises, the crowded bus rides and the umbrellas at Galle Face figure in Maaike's paintings. The artist also shows a fondness for self-portraits that reveal her feelings. One of them shows her with an eye covered. "We are all blinded in a way - our own ideas can mislead us," she says.

Most interestingly, the Sri Lankan woman is depicted within a cage. The bottom of the cage does not reach the woman's feet, showing that she is pushing against various forces that keep her within. On the other hand the top of her head is outside the cage. "Her mind is free unlike her physical being," she explains. "Women in Sri Lanka live by rules and are being judged constantly." The woman however is stronger than the cage and should she want to, can push aside the cage, she feels. Maaike goes back to Holland in January to resume her studies.

A designer who likes to paint
" Aspirations" an exhibition of paintings by Wasantha Kumara will be held from December 27 to 29 from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. at the Public Library Colombo. In this his 15th exhibition, Wasantha will display around 30, acrylic and watercolour paintings.

" It is through our aspirations that we feel all the happiness and sorrows of life," says Wasantha who feels it is a relevant theme for his exhibition. A sociology graduate from the Sri Jayawardenapura University, he held his first exhibition in 1995. "I am an interior designer and landscape artist by profession but what I like to do is paint," says Wasantha.

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