An artistic tapestry honouring ten women
Intertwining creativity with advocacy, visual artist Minal Naomi Wickrematunge’s ongoing exhibition at the Barefoot Gallery is an emotive series of works that engages audiences on a deeper level, fostering empathy and sparking conversation. ‘Strong Heart, Strong Head, Strong Emotions’ delves into the lives of ten remarkable women from Sri Lanka and illuminates the resilience and power of these women, who encapsulate the very fabric of our society.
Minal, who comes from a family of journalists, initially envisioned a career in media, inspired by her upbringing surrounded by stories and the potential of writing about art and design. Life had different plans, and she found herself working in the corporate sector, ultimately going on to study interior design. Minal then began exploring her passion for drawing and painting, leading to a venture into merchandising her art, putting it on T-shirts, cushion covers, and more. This venture revealed the demand for her work, and she embraced her gift, turning it into a viable profession.
The artist and her work. Pic by Akila Jaywardena
Her journey took a significant turn when she was selected as an ambassador for the Fearless Collective, a mural and arts collective, an experience that deepened her passion for using art as a medium for social conversation and connecting with people. “I think in the past two years I’ve been travelling more for my art, I also found myself in the cross-section between art and activism. Of course, that was informed by my history coming from a family of journalists, coming from a family that was always vocal where social issues were always a part of the dinner table conversation,” says Minal.
Her first solo exhibition, titled ‘Sensuous’, explored female sensuality within the South Asian context. She aimed to clarify the distinction between sensuality and sexuality, celebrating heightened awareness of all senses, saying, “People always confuse sensuality and sexuality as one and the same, but sensuality can be being fully heightened and aware of all your senses. These are conversations that aren’t had, and I wanted to bring that to the fore.”
A subsequent exhibition in The Hague in the Netherlands allowed her to present her work to an international audience. There, she highlighted the post-colonial identity of Sri Lanka, combining her art with video documentation and oral history interviews.
The inspiration behind this current exhibition is drawn from Sri Lankan women Minal looks up to, many of whom have made significant contributions to arts, crafts, and social activism. “I chose them because, on one hand, I’m an artist and a lot of the women have created a platform for arts and crafts that has created more sustainable methods for an entire community of women to go into a craft sector. Whether it’s weaving or batik or a dance form, I’m really inspired by women who take the lead in the art.” The second reason was that she considers them to be front-runners of resistance movements, inspiring her with their courage and determination. “All these women are super inspiring because, in the face of adversity, they stood up and decided they weren’t going to succumb to their grief. They were going to use that grief to fuel their cause for the greater good of the country,” she explains.
The works on display include a mix of murals and textiles, each celebrating the ten women in question. The inspiration for the series began with Dr. Rajani Thiranagama. Her words, “strong heart, strong head, and strong emotions,” penned in a letter to her daughter Narmada, have profoundly influenced and guided Minal through both personal and political crises. Dr. Thiranagama’s unwavering dedication to justice and human rights sparked the ideation for this series. “Her fearless commitment to documenting crimes against humanity, irrespective of the perpetrator, marked her as a voice of unbiased truth in a time of extreme polarisation, and so I wanted to encapsulate her life here as well as to honour her,” Minal elaborates.
Another source of inspiration is Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu, who embodies resilience in the face of unimaginable loss—the killing of her son, journalist and writer Richard de Zoysa. “She could have succumbed to her grief and given up, but she took it upon herself to speak up for the other mothers of the disappeared,” says Minal.
Minal also pays homage to the iconic architect Minnette de Silva, incorporating a popular image of her as she attended a conference in London. “I wanted to pay homage to her because I felt like she didn’t get the due respect she deserved at the time. Here she walks in—this woman in a saree. She was also asserting her difference, the fact that she was from Sri Lanka.”
Also in the collection are works dedicated to artist Ena de Silva, dancer Vajira Chitrasena, designer Barbara Sansoni, artist Vicky Shahjehan, who often collaborates with Minal, and activist Sandhya Ekneligoda, whom Minal considers ‘the embodiment of protest.’ Minal also pays tribute to her cousin Ahimsa, daughter of the late Lasantha Wickrematunge, and her aunt, actress Christine Tambimuttu-Fernando.
The pieces were created in collaboration with artisans at Ira Industries, a production house with a specialisation in crafting batik textiles. While she had dabbled in the craft before, Minal’s contemporary take on batik dyeing was a learning curve. “For me, this has been an exercise in letting go of perfection and trusting in the process because depending on the day, depending on the wax, depending on the colours, the temperature, and how the dye gets accepted by or rejected by the fabric—it’s hard to say, so you can only say once you go through it.”
A colourful and thought-provoking display of work that celebrates and honours these women, their stories, and their accomplishments, the exhibition ‘Strong Heart, Strong Heads, Strong Emotions’ is on display at the Barefoot Gallery until Saturday, August 17.
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