Photos by Ruwan Walpola

“Our people have forgotten that to live means to do more than breathing and keeping your body alive. Those who are in power, those who rule our state, what they should have done, is take steps to eradicate the fear and mistrust that has become embedded in people’s minds over decades of war. We are being told that one form of terrorism has come to an end. But what we can see taking place today is another equally terrible system that is being put in place” – Chandragupta Thenuwara

When art conveys a message, it speaks not just of one notion but volumes. ‘The Monument and Other Works’, Chandragupta Thenuwara’s latest exhibition is currently being held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.

New Samadhi

His exhibition has two parts. The first and main exhibition is a new Samadhi. “Monuments and memorials are built by a society that wants to carry forward its cultural stamp into the future. My sculpture consists of figures of four women, looking out in four directions. It calls to the mind, the hopes of the many mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, grandmothers and friends of the disappeared in Sri Lanka; the hopes that die and are reborn every day. It is the hope that the beloved, son, husband, father, brother, grandson and friend will return home at some moment, or that there will be some news of him” he said.

There is a sense of loss in the eyes of the women, as well as a sense of hope. This feeling of uncertainty is something that renders a family helpless and inactive and the Samadhi is dedicated to all women who have the capacity to give birth. These sculptures represent women who bear the hopes of bringing forth life. They hold the outline of an empty space in their hands. They also represent the four major ethnic communities in Sri Lanka’s multicultural society.

The Sinhalese woman looks to the south. The Tamil woman looks to the north. The burgher woman looks to the west and the Muslim woman looks to the east.

The new struggle

The second part of Thenuwara’s exhibition showcases a series of line drawings; ink on paper. Upon close inspection, the drawings make one notice simple things like barbed wire tangled with the debris of nature, hidden shapes and objects and so on. Many of the hidden objects are guns, knives, pistols, swords and other forms of arms.

“There is a history to barbed wire in our country. In the 1960’s, many houses did not have big walls. Fences were made of coconut thatch, bamboo and so on and barbed wire was used to prevent cattle and goats from straying. From the 1970’s, higher walls were build and barbed wire was placed on top of these walls. Barbed wire which has been used for one purpose now was beginning to be used for something else; it has evolved into something that is very sharp and pointed today. It is unclear as to who is actually being separated from whom. This is the new struggle we have to wage” he added.

The drawing titled ‘an island’ is made up of arms. This represents the fact that the war affected the entire country. Another titled ‘a landscape’ which looks like a couple of mountain ranges is actually human male figure silhouettes. Much detailed work has gone into creating some of the drawings like the ‘camouflage arabesque’ and ‘thorns’ series. One other interesting drawing was that of a silhouette of a human figure in thorns, and the mouth area plastered. This highlights how enclosed one’s views and words were at a time and possibly are even in today’s context. The outline completed in thorn is also something that draws plenty of attention as it represents a boundary marker.

His work is known to focus on issues surrounding the impact of war in Sri Lanka, and in response Thenuwara has devised his own stylistic formula as well.

‘The Monument and Other Works’ is to be held until 31 July, 2012 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery.