Arts
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and society come to life The play has been staged in Sri Lanka in the '70s, directed by Sugathapala de Silva under the title "Harima badu hayak" . This time around, Pasan has taken up the challenge of restaging it using a new approach and interpretation. Pasan claims that the play takes a naturalistic approach and that he wants to see how 30 years down the line, it can be brought to life using more contemporary technique and technology. The play highlights Shakespeare's words "All the world's a stage…and all the men and women, merely players…" says Chamila Pieris, who is one of the six characters in search of an author. Even in everyday life, we each have our role to play, says Chamila. Our personal life is left strictly at home and the world remains completely oblivious to it all, she says. Similarly, her character in the play as a stepdaughter who is forced into prostitution to help provide for her mother and siblings is a role where she has to show two faces. She grows up with a lot of anger and resentment towards her stepfather who has walked out on the family for another woman, leaving them poverty stricken. The basic plot revolves around six characters who barge into a rehearsal and demand that the actors and director, do their script instead of the one they are already working on. Amidst all the confusion, neither play is properly done. Since the focus of the play is diverted from the play to the conflict between the actors who are not satisfied with the interpretation of the script, the play takes on a chaotic turn. Speaking to the avaricious 'Madame Pace' (Visaka Jayaweera), we found out how even a cameo role can add so much to a play. She explained how she indirectly forces the stepdaughter (Chamila) into prostitution by hinting that her mother wasn't satisfactory anymore. She runs a brothel on the side, using a shop as a front. The plot takes an ironic twist when the stepdaughter's stepfather comes to her as a client. Having attended Anoja's Academy of Performing Arts, Visaka says she can finally put her knowledge into practice. Since she had to learn a bit of Spanish to add colour to her character, she found it quite different and interesting. Working with and learning from a director like Pasan and a great team (the cast), Visaka says that it's been a brilliant experience overall. Other actors and actresses in main roles include Vasanthi Ranwala, Dananjaya Siriwardena, Ajith Kumara and Chathurani Thilakarathna. Remembering
the maestros behind the lens The Society was formed in the mid thirties by a small group of photo enthusiasts, among whom were Lionel Wendt, P.J.C. Durrant, Joe Ebert, B.G. Thornley and few others. They had regular meetings, initially at the residence of Lionel Wendt and after his demise in 1944 moved from place to place - Polhengoda, Dehiwela and finally Kollupitiya. It might be of interest to know that about 1950 or thereabouts, the then Secretary B. G. Thornley proposed to disband the society as he was leaving the country shortly. Most of the members did not welcome this proposal. Among those who opposed the motion were D.C.L. Amerasinghe, Joe Livera and the late P.U. Pathirana. When plans were made for the complex for the Art Gallery and the Theatre, it was also decided to allocate space for the society premises as well and Mr. D.C.L. Amarasinghe himself played an important role in the layout of the Society’s rooms and studio. Since moving into its permanent home, the society has had remarkable success in achieving its main objective - namely to foster photography as an art-form in the country. Most of the members in the Society were amateur photographers dedicated to the art. The affairs of the society were overseen by a committee of ten senior members including the Secretary and the Treasurer. There was also a set of guidelines to be followed by the members of the Society. During the ensuing years, the membership grew very rapidly and today there are over hundred members. There were monthly meetings held in the studio where the efforts of the members came in for friendly criticism and discussion with a view to improving their techniques. Several competitions were also held including one for beginners. These meetings were always looked forward to by the members as they were educational as well as entertaining. Many lasting friendships were also made. There were well-known personalities at these meetings - some of whom were not so keen photographers but members who came to have a relaxed evening. Among them were senior civil servants, doctors, lawyers, bankers and some even from the business community and the armed services. Among those who put up pictures were Nihal Fernando, S.R. Kottegoda, Pat Deckker, Shiva Bandara, Palitha Rajapakse, Chandi Chanmugam, Sena Kotalawala & Kumar Chitty. The compere at the easel was Lawyer R. Devansenapathy, Senior Partner of F.J. & G. De Saram who was also the Society's Treasurer. He was a stickler for good print quality and could detect the faintest use of the airbrush for finishing which in those days was not permitted to be used on exhibition pictures. The standard of the pictures that came up at these meetings was quite high in print quality as well as in pictorial content. These were all made by the authors themselves in the society's dark rooms. This writer vividly remembers the breathtaking landscapes of Nihal Fernando, the eye-catching candids of S.R. Kottegoda, and the graceful nudes of Palitha Rajapakse and Kumar Chitty. The annual event was the international exhibition held towards the end of the year. The first of these exhibitions was held in 1954 and since then the exhibition has been held without a single break. In the '70s and even up to the '80s there used to be a flood of entries from nearly 40 countries in the world totalling to over a thousand pictures out of which about 250 were on display. The exhibition was open for seven days and drew large crowds. The exhibition secretaries during this period did yeoman service with the assistance of a few others in the committee - scheduling, packing and re-packing, hanging and even decorating the Wendt Gallery. It was an excellent bit of co-operative effort - the only reason being the 'love of the art'. The international exhibitions used to be reviewed nearly always. The late Bonnie Fernando the veteran Lake House journalist who was a regular at the monthly meetings and Sita Jayawardena the well-known freelance journalist of the day never failed to say something about them. As far as the local pictures were concerned - there were bouquets and sometimes brickbats too - this writer remembers the headline 'Time to grow vegetables' on one such review by Bonnie. During this period, the Society used to organise photo trips out of Colombo - a favourite place being Negombo where Dr. M.S. Weerakoon, a member and fine photographer used to host the visiting members. In the mid sixties the society organised a second Annual Exhibition for local photographers which included a section for school children and a section for photojournalism. Prizes were offered by Millers Ltd. and the Society for the best three pictures in each category. This exhibition was however discontinued a few years later. During this period there were also two special exhibitions - one sponsored by Studio Times and the other by the Finance Co. Ltd. The first one was by two senior members of the Society while the second one was devoted to ten well-known photographers of the country. In the mid-seventies, when members took part in photographic exhibitions and competitions abroad, the committee decided to extend its activities to those outside the membership. In order to achieve this a series of classes on Photography was commenced where the senior members of the Society lectured free of charge on the basics of good photography both in theory and practice. The charges were affordable and the classes were held on weekends. There was a good response. Later the classes were held in the Sinhala medium as well and the response here too was very encouraging. When considering the performance of the Society during this period, it would not be out of place to highlight some of the notable achievements of the members of the Society. Eight members, among them a lady member, have had their works published in book form. The subjects have been wide and varied ranging from wildlife and nature, archaeology, people, landscapes and portraits and even two text books on photography in the Sinhala medium. There have been two 'firsts' with one member gaining the Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society - the first ever in the country - and another being invited to be on the international jury for judging the prize winning works of the Annual UNESCO Exhibition for the Asia Pacific countries, held in Tokyo. With the drafting of the new Constitution for the Society last year and the consequent expansion of its activities, a face lift is to be given to the Society Rooms as well. However, the future success of the Society will be gauged by the extent to which the standard of photography as an art form is further enhanced in the country, which was the primary objective of those pioneers who founded the Society some seventy years ago. Interacting
between life and colours on canvas Focussing mainly on abstracts, his exhibition of paintings and drawings titled "Bath" opened yesterday at the Paradise Road Galleries. The exhibition, which continues till March 20, will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to midnight, daily. Coming from a family of poets, landscapists and magicians, Kingsley can attribute his talent to the artistic streak running through his family. Born in Wadduwa, he had his higher education at the College of Fine Arts, Colombo. After his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kelaniya he went on to study environmental education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. He is now a visiting lecturer at the College of Fine Arts. "It was after my university education that I got seriously involved with art. The experience I gained working with children as a lecturer, and also from travelling around the world has greatly influenced my work," said Kingsley, who has travelled widely and feels his exposure in Germany, the United Kingdom and the Philippines, has contributed to his art. He has participated in numerous workshops on children, the environment and war. Speaking of the theme of this latest exhibition, Kingsley says that "Bath" and "Mountain" the two main concepts used stem from his unique personal experience. "For example, if I start drawing a mountain, a female figure suddenly appears, maybe in my subconscious mind, and I have to include that too. So in every painting on display, this phenomena is present." It's his eighth solo exhibition following earlier showings in the UK, Germany, Japan, India and the Philippines. His solo exhibitions have been on "Life of a Candle", "Displaced", "Visual Art" and "Year Planner." "Displaced" dealt with the suffering caused by the ethnic conflict, "Year Planner" was based on the terrorist attack on the Dalada Maligawa. He uses acrylics on canvas and his drawings are done in ink, charcoal and gouache, which is a colour pigment similar to poster paints. Quick strokes with the brush, especially for the illustrations on paper are Kingsley's main technique. "I focus on colour sense, brightness, strength of colour and colour blending, which doesn't essentially mean matching of colours. On the contrary, going with the modern approach, even contrasting colours are used for colour blending." Elaborating on the concept behind his creations, Kingsley feels his work is more of a production, as opposed to the age-old opinion of drawing being simply an act. "My work is more of an interaction between my idea, the canvas and the colours." "Sri Lanka definitely needs more state sponsorship to build up art as a profession. Artists do not have enough encouragement and appreciation to work to the best of their ability. This is something that needs to be seriously looked into," he says in conclusion. |
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Copyright
© 2001 Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved. |
'Haye
Kalliya', a translation of the English adaptation of Italian playwright
Luigi Pirandello's 'Six Characters in Search of an Author' will
be staged on March 2 at 6.30 p.m. at the Elphinstone Theatre. Directed
by Pasan Kodikara, the play depicts the irony of life and how the
root of most social evils is society itself.
Although
superficially the play is humorous, Pasan says it is in essence
a tragicomedy that carries a lot of depth and relevance to today's
society, enabling the audience to identify with the various scenarios
taking place on stage.
