Canvas of connectivity and creativity
View(s):- Lankans in Australia to hold exhibition
By Daleena Samarajiwa
One of Mohammed Nazeer’s abstracts
It’s fitting then that Sri Lanka’s auspicious month of April should end on a Sri Lankan high note in Monash – with ‘Art, Photo and Book Exhibition, From Sri Lanka to Australia’, on April 30 presented by SriLankan Australian Inc., a group of Lankans who came together to raise funds for Sri Lanka during the economic crisis.
The exhibition is their second initiative. While the exhibition carries some big names, it is largely about the creative expression of ordinary Sri Lankans, where the works of over 75 artists, photographers and authors will go on display.
“There are a lot of people who have migrated here who are very talented and after coming here, they have extended their talent in various ways. We don’t see or hear much of them, and this is an opportunity to reach out to them,” said Hemal Gurusinghe of the organising team.
Some exhibits are from Sri Lankans based elsewhere who have strong ties to Australia; the works of master photographers Lionel Wendt and Reginald Van Cuylenburg, and a selection of global reconciliation photographs of Sri Lanka in 2014 by Dominic Sansoni, Stephen Champion, Sivathas Sivasubramaniam and Paul James.
Some Sri Lankan Australians will be displaying titles from their own book collections in line with the high point of the event, the Victor Melder Lecture that honours the work of Victor Melder and his extensive library of over 7,000 books, journals and magazines on Sri Lanka. This year’s lecture ‘Collecting Antiquarian Ceylon Books’ will be delivered by Hugh Karunaratna, past President of the Ceylon Society of Australia, who is a prolific writer on things Sri Lankan, book lover and collector.
Some exhibitors are showing works that straddle both Sri Lanka and Australia. Chris Kriekenbeek’s street photography of Sri Lanka and Melbourne explores the hidden beauty of these two places. Medical doctor and nature photographer Harin Dias, will show underwater photographs from Hikkaduwa and Australia’s East Coast while Cecil Perera exhibits stunning landscape photography of both countries.
Photographs by Cecil Perera
Designer Preethi Hapuwatte from Darwin has exhibited before in both Australia and Sri Lanka, her works revealing a fusion of Sri Lankan and Australian art influence in the use of content and elements such as lines, dots and earthy colours. Mohammed Nazeer, formerly an engineer is a self-taught artist who has his own custom art business. Living in Australia for 20 years, his abstracts show life in Jaffna. Wellington Molligoda, formerly in electronics, now in his 90s, creates digital artworks. He moved to Australia in 1984 with his family and has exhibited at the Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong.
For retired engineer Chrys Kurera, the extended Covid lockdown period prompted his dive into art. Chrys will show alongside his 10-year-old granddaughter Zylah Ferreira, a third generation Sri Lankan Australian.
The books on display include fiction, non-fiction, cookery and self development, from authors such as Melbourne-based Raine Wickrematunge, and Noel Nadesan whose Veterinary Vignettes: Memoirs of a Veterinary Surgeon, reflects his work as a veterinarian in Sri Lanka, Australia and India. NLP coach and motivational trainer Nuwan Samarapathi has self-development books for adults and children.
Art, Photo and Book Exhibition, From Sri Lanka to Australia, is on April 30 at Clayton Hall, 264 Clayton Road, Clayton VIC3168
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