I N T E R N A T I O N A L C E N T R E F O R E T H N I C S T U D I E S P R E S E N T S

a conversation among six artists

RECURRENCE

Lionel Wendt Gallery | Jan 6-9,2020

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Abdul Halik Azeez,

Hanusha somasunderam,

Jasmine Nilani Joseph,

with

Thamotharampillai

Sanathanan,

Chandraguptha Thenuwara

&

Jagath Weerasinghe

Six artists speak to each other, and all of us, exploring the ideas of

recurrence and resilience in contemporary Sri Lanka.

Two women and four men, from different generations, of different

ethnicities, from different geographies, and representing a broad

canvas of socio-political backgrounds, reflect on the paradox of a

country that has changed rapidly in some ways, yet remains

unchanged in others.

Their work is rooted in their childhood memories and politics of their

circumstances. They resonate deeply with collective sentiments shared

by many who live on the island.

Through a variety of mediums, these artists reflect, contest and

explore achievement, loss, missed opportunities, grief and human

resilience, and events that have had an uncanny capacity to recur.

THE INEVITABILITYO F C I R C U M S T A N C E S

B e i n g ' S r i L a n k a n ’ t o m e i s a c o n f u s i n gi d e a s o m e t i m e s . D o w e r e a l l y h a v e a n a l l - e n c o m p a s s i n gi d e n t i t y t h a t c u t s a c r o s s o u r c u l t u r a l a n dr e l i g i o u s d i f f e r e n c e s , o r a r e w e j u s tu n f o r t u n a t e i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e s a m e p i e c eo f l a n d ?

Abdul Halik Azeez

ABDUL HALIK AZEEZ

Abdul Halik Azeez is a visual artist interested in the semiotics of visual

symbols in our lived environment. Born in 1985, his photography first

appeared through his now-renowned Instagram handle @colombedouin.

Halik’s practice captures the visual traces of life left by communities. His

diverse background in economics, journalism, and linguistics as well as his

work as an independent researcher on hate speech and critical discourse

analysis underlines his themes such as urbanization, ethnic conflict and

representations.

Displayed at Recurrence are photographs drawn from his photo-essay series

‘Violence of Memory.’ And the video installation  ‘Pics or it Didn’t

Happen/Memory.’

W h a t i s h a p p e n i n g a r o u n d u s ? S o o n a f t e r t h e e n d o f t h e n e a r l y t h r e ed e c a d e s l o n g w a r , i n s t e a d o f e s t a b l i s h i n g ap e a c e b u i l d i n g p r o c e s s b y r e t u r n i n go c c u p i e d l a n d a n d r e m o v i n g m i l i t a r yc a m p s , t h e r e a r e i n d i v i d u a l s a n d g r o u p sl o o k i n g f o r a n e w e n e m y . T h e J u n e 2 0 1 4r i o t s i n D h a r g a T o w n w e r e a c l e a ri n c i d e n t o f t h i s a t t e m p t . I t r e m i n d e d m e o f t h e 1 9 8 3 B l a c k J u l y .

Chandragupta Thenuwara, Sunday Observer, 29 December 2019

CHANDRAGUPTHA THENUWARA

Born in 1960 in Southern Sri Lanka, Thenuwara is an artist cum activist

whose entire body of work is a visual political commentary of the island.

His iconic works explore how barrels became a part of the landscape,

how ‘national security’ created check-points, roadblocks and barricades,

and how they became a day-to-day ritual. He introduces his work in

three specific phases: Barrelism (1997-2006), Neo-Barrelism (2007-

2009), and Post-Barrelism (2009-2014). All phases correspond to the

three decades of the ethnic war.

Recurrence displays works from the two earlier phases of Barrelism and

Neo-Barrelism, produced before the end of the war in 2009. He revisits

the theme later on  in  2017 - 2019 through a series of miniature brass

casts.

O n e o f m y e a r l i e s t c h i l d h o o d m e m o r i e si s o f m y s e l f a n d m y t w i n b r o t h e rw e e p i n g i n c o n s o l a b l y a s w e w a t c h e d o u rm o t h e r h e a d i n g o u t t o p l u c k t e a w i t h ah u g e c a n e b a s k e t o n h e r b a c k ,t h r o u g h t h e g r i m y w i n d o w .

Hanusha Somasunderam, Archive of Memory

HANUSHA SOMASUNDERAM

Somasunderam hails from the up-country region of Sri Lanka. She

explores her society and her own existence through unorthodox

mediums, confronting the struggles of her community in the last 100

years. She uses materials associated with the everyday practice of

drinking tea such as tea strainers, tea cups, tea bags, as well as the payslips

received by tea pluckers that calculate their daily wages according to the

weight of tea leaves plucked.

Presented at Recurrence is work triggered by some of her earliest

memories; simple sketches on tea cups and payslips, very much like what

her mother received as a tea estate worker.

W h a t i n s p i r e s m e t o d o a r t i s t h e h u m a nc o n d i t i o n i n g e n e r a l . A s w e k n o w b e i n gh u m a n i s s o c u m b e r s o m e . I w o r k a r o u n d t h e f r u s t r a t i o n o f t h ei n d i v i d u a l w h e n c o n f r o n t e d w i t ho r g a n i z e d p o l i t i c a l v i o l e n c e . T h e m a i n d i l e m m a I t r y t o m a k e s e n s e o f i sh o w a n d w h y t h e v e r y f o r c e s t h a t s h o u l dc r i t i c a l l y e n g a g e w i t h s o c i a l i n j u s t i c e s a r ei n f a c t a c t i n g l i k e n a ï v e a c c o m p l i c e s o f t h ev e r y s y s t e m t h a t p e r p e t u a t e s v i o l e n c e . . .

Jagath Weerasinghe

JAGATH WEERASINGHE

Weerasinghe himself coined the term ‘90s Art Trend’, describing the

politically conscious work of his peer group. His own practice is at the

core of it and he went on to co-create the Theertha International Artists'

Collective, fostering new artists and initiatives. In the late 1990s he was

commissioned by the Sri Lankan government to design a monument,

‘Shrine for the Innocent’ memorialising the innocent victims of violence

experienced in Southern Sri Lanka in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The

monument was subsequently demolished to give way to post-war city

beautification projects.

Recurrence exhibits for the first time a series painted in the final days of

the war, signed 18th May 2009 by the artist together with one of his

iconic installations 'Knife'.

I b e g a n e x p l o r i n g t h e v i s u a l f o r m o f i n kd r a w i n g s t o e x p r e s s m y o w n e x p e r i e n c e o fd i s p l a c e m e n t t h a t m a d e m e l o s e m y h o m e i nJ a f f n a . I n ‘ Y a l l J e w e l l e r y ’ I f o c u s o n a b a n d o n e db u i l d i n g s , e m p t y a r c h i t e c t u r a l s p a c e s ,l a n d s , a n d r u i n s . O n c e , t h e y w e r e ‘ r e a l ’p l a c e s w h i c h I s a w i n J a f f n a . N o w , t h e ya r e o n l y m o n u m e n t s f o r d i s p l a y , m e m o r i e so f w h i c h o n e m u s t k e e p s a f e , a s i f f a m i l yj e w e l l e r y i n a b o x .

Jasmine Nilani Joseph

JASMINE NILANI JOSEPH

Jasmine Nilani Joseph is a visual artist from Jaffna whose work focuses on the

experiences of displacement, militarization, and the lived histories of

Northern Sri Lanka. Often beginning with field research and documenting

from communal memory, Nilani's drawing series dwell on geographic

details, displaced homes and how security structures come to denote

militarization of the domestic sphere and the natural world.

Recurrence presents her latest interactive installation ‘Yall Jewellery Boxes,’

which combines her signature line drawings with jewellery boxes used by

women to store their bangles.

T h e c e n t r a l p o i n t i n a l l m y w o r k s i s s t i l lt h e h o m e . H o m e w a s b u r n i n g b e c a u s e o f w a r . I c o u l dn o t s l e e p n o r s h a r e m y t r a u m a w i t ha n y o n e .

Thamotharampillai Sanathanan

THAMOTHARAMPILLAI SANATHANAN

Born in Jaffna, Sanathanan’s art practice traces loss, memory, home and

the self. His work involves various disciplines; research, documentation,

and oral history that explore complex issues related to Sri Lanka’s civil

war. With Raking Leaves, a curatorial publishing organization, he

produced a book documenting people’s lived experiences and feelings

about displacement alongside artistic interpretations of these stories. His

works such as Incomplete Thombu and Cabinet of Resistance are today

some of the most recognised artistic representations of Jaffna and its

recent history.

Recurrence brings back some of his earlier works, described by the artist

as ‘they were never meant to be sold.’

Curated by Hasini Haputhanthri

Assisted by Annemari de SilvaBandu Manamperi

Thisath Thoradeniya

Special ThanksThe UKRI-GCRF Hub on Gender, Justice and Security

Saskia Fernando GalleriesTheertha Artists' Collective

Lionel Wendt Art Centre and StaffMario Gomez

World Art and Memory Museum