Plus - Dominic and Jagath tell their own stories of our ‘sunny’ isle

This week, two Sri Lankan photographers will be offering Londoners rare glimpses of our sunny island. Dominic Sansoni and Jagath Dheerasekara will exhibit their photographs at The Gallery of the Foyles bookshop from June 16 till June 24.

Making the exhibit more intriguing is that though both men seem to have approached it from different perspectives, the underlying motivation seems to be the same. They’re both offering their viewers a chance to appreciate something outside the realm of their normal experience.

“I want people to think, ‘so that’s what’s out there, lets go and see it’,” says Dominic, adding that the collection is about “celebrating this country.” For him, this is something that now, more than ever, needs to be done. However, Dominic explains that there is one ‘sad’ picture in the collection, put there to serve “as a reminder that not all things are hunky dory.” Featuring images of landscapes, people and festivities, each image has his indelible stamp on it.

For Jagath, his collection of work, titled “Song of the Unsung” is about “those people who have no pages in the history books of Sri Lanka.” His collection of black and white photographs, include images of labourers taking well deserved breaks, fishermen drawing in nets, cinnamon peelers at work, mahouts, markets and cattle. Jagath considers his art a medium through which he hopes to instigate some amount of social change; “by revealing certain things, [injustices in the lives of people for instance] one can help people think differently, help them change their attitudes,” he says. Later he adds, “this hope gives me the courage and the inspiration to continue.” “How one’s subjects interact/react to one is recorded in the photograph you take,” says Jagath, explaining that a photographer must balance detachment and involvement. ‘Song of the Unsung’ will showcase over a decade of Jagath’s work.

However, the best part of the show as far as Jagath is concerned, is having the chance to exhibit side by side with a photographer he respects immensly– Dominic Sansoni.

This is not Jagath’s first exhibition, or even his first exhibition abroad – in fact he has previously exhibited at many international venues including the Royal Photographic Society of the U.K and Hasselblad Austrian Supercircuit.