Colombo Sri Lanka (Commonwealth Union)_Renowned for its natural beauty, Sri Lanka however, holds within its teardrop shape a plethora of issues that for decades have been pushed beneath the surface. Most are deep-rooted and spring to the surface when flames are fanned by political agendas or religious extremism. However, these issues, which have only gained band-aid treatment since the country gained independence remain just that – under the surface and never confronted for solutions to be found.
But one artist doesn’t want Sri Lanka to forget. Every year, internationally acclaimed artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara commemorates Sri Lanka’s checkered past, a practice he began after the Tamil pogrom of July 1983. Forty years on, this interdisciplinary artist explores the ensuing socio-political climate, Sinhala chauvinism, narrow minded nationalism, militarism, religious extremism, socialism and anti-west sentiment that embraces Sri Lankans.
This July, Thenuwara held three simultaneous exhibitions in three galleries – Covert, Delusion & Fragile – at the Saskia Fernando Gallery, Lionel Wendt Art Gallery & the J D A Perera Gallery in Colombo, taking his work to a completely new level. Literally fighting not just for his own freedom but for the freedom of Sri Lankans with his creativity, each year he pulls the complex turbulences surrounding his country into his works and each year he throws out thought provoking pieces dealing with the politics of memory and violence.
This year, those issues of politics and violence also confronts Sri Lanka’s obsession with beautification which could be the panacea for survival. However, this beautification also erases recent history, which doesn’t augur well if the country is to learn lessons from its past, to move into the future.
He tackles religious extremism which gets fanned to suit political goals, Islamaphobia, Stupamania which he has added to the dictionary given Sri Lanka’s obsession for building stupas anywhere and everywhere which he believes is a symbol of insecurity on the part of the Sinhala Buddhists.
In Delusion, a large handmade wrought iron installation which dominates the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, an array of beautiful lotuses depict Sri Lanka’s beauty and how society lives in a delusional state in this beauty. These lotuses are intertwined with the ugliness of violence depicted in rape, guns, swords and military vignettes. He adds a profusion of stupas to illustrate Stupamania and encourages visitors to walk barefoot on the wrought iron carpet to feel each depiction, to physically feel the beauty and the pain.
Thenuwara who founded the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts to foster Sri Lanka’s contemporary art genre, completed a postgraduate programme in Fine Arts from the Moscow State Institute and holds and M.Phil from the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology of the University of Kelaniya. He has been featured in Cities on the Move curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hou Hanru. The central pillar in Delusion was featured at the Venice Biennale 2022.
He has exhibited in Australia, the Netherlands, Russia, India, Iran, Germany, UAE, UK, Canada, Poland, Japan, Finland, Bangladesh, France and Vienna. His works seen at the Sharjah Art Foundation and Frieze London as well as in institutional collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Japan and Queensland Art Gallery Australia.
