‘Encounters’ to promote Contemporary Art and Culture

Art addresses two popular misconceptions in society. One is that “A picture is worth a thousand words”. Art really has nothing to do with words. It is wordless. Beyond words. It has everything to do with Empathy. An emotion. The second popular misconception is that “Love moves the world”. Love does not move the world. Empathy moves the world. If you take every work of Art in history, what do they all have in common? Empathy. An artist paints so that the person looking at the art work will empathize with him/her. Through art we are also able to empathize with others.

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA Sri Lanka) opened Rotation 3 of its exhibition titled ‘Encounters’ on December 8, 2022. The public can view the exhibition until March 19, 2023, at the museum premises inside Crescat Boulevard. Entrance to the exhibition is free.

Chief Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, Sharmini Pereira, pointed out that the primary goal of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (MMCA) is to build an audience for Modern and Contemporary Art. Art is actually a two way street. It gives viewers a certain liberality. And that in turn ensures its survival.

Kandyan Bride by George Keyt

“This is an exhibition called Encounters. It has been in three different parts called Rotations. And this is Rotation 3. So we are always thinking about a new audience, since the time we moved here to Crescat in February. That is why we have been rotating this exhibition. Right now there is a small group of people who are benefiting from what Modern and Contemporary art can offer. We want more and more people to appreciate this form of Art. We are doing this in a very limited space. We want this museum to be permanent and benefit the people of Colombo. That is our vision. We want this to be a place that schoolchildren can visit, where the public can come and attend events and view exhibitions. And also we want to attract tourists who are now beginning to come to Sri Lanka. We want this audience to have a very high quality experience. We are also looking at offering activities that they can engage in, which can help them understand what they are seeing,” said Pereira.

Pereira believes that this kind of experience is not there in the rest of the museums in Sri Lanka. None of them are really looking at Modern and Contemporary Art. “Here we are looking at Sri Lanka’s modern and contemporary art. We are looking at artists who are living here in Sri Lanka, and artists who do not live here. We are also looking at employment. Where people can enter this sector and start their career in this sector,” she said.

Indeed, what she says is true. During the last few years, the country has experienced many difficulties. Because people have had to make the choice whether to leave or whether to stay. “When the museum is permanent and complete, we will be looking for skilled workers who can come and work here. If you have the expertise, if you have the professional qualifications and if you have the knowledge you can come and work here. Yes, we want to promote art amongst people, but we also want to contribute in other ways like providing employment for the locals.”

Pereira stated that in this third rotation, they have taken a new approach. They have looked at two collections of modern art in the country, and chosen six art works from that collection. Each of these six art works have been used as a starting point for the creation of a smaller display. “Today we are going to look at two of the art works that have not been shown until now, but they are the centre pieces for rotation three. We have brought other art works to be together with them to create an encounter.”

Assistant Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, Ritchell Marcelline, spoke on the conservation work that has been put into this exhibition. Even before the start of the media coverage, we were told not to use the flash.

“The maintenance and preservation of works of art and their protection from future damage and deterioration is part of any exhibition. When putting on an exhibition, conservation is something not everyone sees and not everyone is aware of. But there is a lot of conservation that goes with the art works. However, before the exhibition, in preparation for the exhibition and during the exhibition there is a lot of conservation work done. In order for it to be accessible to the public a lot of work goes into it. When displaying, we pay special attention to the conditions in the room. The lighting is tested constantly along with testing the humidity and temperature. This is because the painting is sensitive to these conditions. All this is constantly evaluated during the exhibition as well. Because without proper care these paintings can be lost. There are also so many recommendations made. A lot of trust is placed in us. A lot of research has gone into this. Every aspect of the museum has been given a lot of thought. This all contributes to how people experience space. It is a constant push for quality and standards. These paintings are part of Sri Lankan history, culture and knowledge,” said Marcelline.

Assistant Curator, Education and Public programmes, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka Pramodha Weerasekera, explained that this museum is an education led museum.

“We give a lot of priority to these education programmes. Because there needs to be a discourse about the art works. Over the course of Rotation 3, just like Rotation 1 and 2, public programmes will be running until March 19, 2023. Usually we have two to three events per week. These are tri-lingual public programmes. Some events will be done in Sinhala, some in Tamil and some in English. During the course of rotations 1 and 2, we have been able to successfully host more than 100 public programmes which includes, talks, workshops, special performances, events, curator’s tours and exhibition tours. More than 1,500 participants have taken part and enjoyed the experience. This gives us the chance to take the exhibition to more audiences. They may not know much about George Keyt, but they may be interested in knowing about the attire of Kandyan brides,” said Weerasekera.

So art is used as a tool for learning. It doesn’t matter what the audience is. It could be children, adults or art enthusiasts. There is always something to learn there at the museum. It could be the technique or subject matter.

“We are making an attempt at looking critically at George Keyt’s work, which has not happened much. We have had several gallery talks and workshops focused on George Keyt. There are many biographical accounts of Keyt, but there is not much critical writing about Keyt. All our events are free and open to the public. Also at the museum we have a group of young people/ educators trained to talk about the art work on display. They will make sure that the visitors have a comprehensive experience. Visitors can ask as many questions as they want about arts and culture. There is absolutely no need to feel intimidated.”

In addition to public programmes, there is a focus on students. They can come here weekly. Each session is a series of learning experiences and activities. It is about fun. But it is also about learning. It is all about making children self- aware and socially conscious. “Interested parents can always get in touch with us. Schools also can get in touch with us, because we are very interested in school children. We know that this year has been very difficult for school children and university students (fuel crisis). Even covid19 was very difficult for school children. We believe that the experience they will receive here will really help them in their lives. This will give them a holistic experience,” explained Weerasekera.

Janani Cooray

Performance by  Janani Cooray

The Osariya is also a garment worn by teachers in schools. Janani Cooray is a performance artist who was at the event that day. She is also a teacher. She teaches art at a government school. In 2015 she was involved in a brave performance where she wore a barbed wire costume. She made a ‘Osariya’ or ‘Kandyan Sari’, not using the normal cloth or silk, but she made it from Aluminium and barbed wire. She moved through the streets of Sri Lanka. It was a tough job. The possibility of falling and getting injured was very real.

“Her performance brings me to the point I want to make- how does the Osariya restrict us? Is it taking away our choice? What we wish to wear when we go to teach? What Janani should wear when she goes to teach? This is at the crux of her performance. Why is it that there are certain forms of garments and clothing women are asked to wear, that men do not have to wear? This is what she is trying to emphasize with the barbed wire. This notion in society is pushed onto the body of the woman. Janani’s performance is a protest against women being made to conform. It was an incredibly difficult performance with the barbed wire cutting into her. But it was a powerful performance. It is all about the right to choose” said Pereira.

Actually Rotation 3, reminds us of a recent issue that was heatedly discussed in society, about the dress code of teachers. One group saying that a teacher should be able to dress anyway she wants and another group that argued for a uniform dress code.

Sharmini Pereira

Chief Curator, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art  Sri Lanka, Sharmini Pereira takes us through the wonders of the MMCA

Pereira first speaks about George Keyt’s painting, ‘Kandyan Bride’ (1951). Here Keyt uses lots of lines. Pereira places great emphasis on lines. The painting is dominated by lines. But see how these lines give expression to the painting! Look at the eyes of the bride. See how submissive these lines make her look. Look at the eyes of the drummer. See how assertive he looks. All of this is done through lines. Even the drummer’s body is like a triangle. This is a very particular style. Even the drummer’s breast is triangular. This is an image of a marriage ceremony, called the Kandyan Bride.

Again here we are reminded of what Pramodha Weerasekera said. That art is about education as well. The painting looks at Kandyan culture. Fittingly it is called ‘Kandyan Bride’ The clothing worn by the woman is the Osariya. It is the Kandyan bridal sari and it is also something the women wear at state engagements. It came to Sri Lanka from South India. The Nayakkar kings took princesses from South Asia as their brides. That is how the Osariya first came to Sri Lanka. All of this is valuable information that students can receive.

“If we look at the bride in this particular painting, this is a day when she is getting married. Of course she should be very happy. But when we look at her face it is not happiness. Here, her face is one of modesty. Maybe that is what is expected when it comes to the conduct of the bride. Maybe her lower status next to her husband is expressed here. Her eyes are downcast”.