Their memories in black and white

By D. C. Ranatunga

It was only a fortnight ago that Professor J. B. Disanayaka launched his book 'Understanding the Sinhalese'. The same theme of mutual understanding continued in last week's exhibition of photography at Gallery 706 presented by The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) with the strong belief that culture plays a significant part in understanding people. "Accepting another becomes possible only through the understanding and recognition of the circumstances and the diversity of cultures of others," the exhibition note said.

Titled 'Sri Lankan Memories' the exhibition was to commemorate 50 years of Sri Lankan Independence.

The Centre's aim in presenting the exhibition was "to reflect and emphasize the importance of understanding ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and dynamics of Sri Lankan people". ICES also tried to focus attention on the plight of the fine arts of Sri Lanka through the exhibition. "It is an obvious fact that for 50 years, Sri Lankan visual arts, for the large part, have been a neglected area. Within the fine arts field, photography has been given the least bit of attention. Sri Lanka's lack of galleries, fine arts schools, and modern art museums to facilitate the development of fine arts are direct consequences of this gross negligence.

As for private sector involvement, at least a handful of companies had been trying to lend a hand towards the promotion of the arts. Ceylon Tobacco Company, for example, has had a planned programme to sponsor theatre and art. Their sponsorship of 'Nava Kalakaruvo' every year has helped to bring out the talent of many a young artist. The annual 'Kala Pola' is held with the assistance of John Keells. Singer's involvement with the performing arts brought out a couple of quality ballets by the Sama Foundation.

'Sri Lankan Memories' was a selection of 60 photographs by seven contemporary lensmen - "personal statements of each of these artists about a country that they have intimately experienced, for some, throughout their lives and for others, in their visits to Sri Lanka".

Many would have enjoyed the selections from the collection of Reg Van Cuylenburg (1926-1988) to whom "simple things bring light to new ideas".

It's always refreshing to see the work of Nihal Fernando ("a lover of nature and passionately yearning for the heritage and roots of his native land") excelling in capturing the ever changing scene be it landscape or humanscope. His `Way of Life – Ehetuwewa' was one of his selections which portrayed possibly the never changing rural environment.

Working closely with Nihal, Luxshmanan Nadaraja admits that his interest to explore the land and its undiscovered secrets was the main reason for choosing photography as his profession. Within a matter of 15 years he has matured to be a talented artiste who is able to capture "a myriad of images that reveal the beauty, the grandiosity, the innocence, the endangered and the vulnerability of this land's living spirits of nature."

Dominic Sansoni is another young photographer who has made his mark , and to repeat what is in the note "in his hands the most difficult picture is treated to such a perfection in so starkly a 'straight' fashion, it not only reveals his desire to document the thing itself and communicate the experience inherent in the subject, but also him as a serious compositionist who demands technical perfection."

Dhanushka Amarasekera, described as a young photographic artist, says her main interest has always been the human body in its most subtle form. Her Beach Series illustrated this. The small size pictures of some familiar characters made the viewer get close and observe how she has captured their details.

The work of Stephen Champion, who has travelled widely in Sri Lanka observing the dynamics and the effects of war, made us think – think hard - on the misery of life in a war-torn country. Monique Stauder describes her work and her purpose thus: "The chronology of my photographic twists and turns has been guided by synchronicity... a sheer joy to illustrate... to align myself with the wind... to understand the truth."

The layout of the exhibition gave ample room for visitors to enjoy the pictures leisurely and absorb the deep messages in them. It was commemorating the 50th year of Independence in a different way – making people realise what is going on around them right now which is much more meaningful than a mere record of what went on during the past half a century.

More Plus * Kala Korner - By Dee Cee

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