Not to be missed exhibitions in Colombo

Though many of us have curtailed our activities due to the threat of Covid, there are two exhibitions of art and architecture that are on-going in Colombo which should not be missed. Both are at easily accessed locations; have convenient hours; and are free to the public. I write about them from a layman’s point of view, as a woman interested in art and more so architecture, with the hope of encouraging more people to visit and experience them before they end.

The first exhibition I went to was the display of Geoffrey Bawa’s work at the Park Street Mews, Colombo 02. It is scheduled to continue from February 1 to April 3 and is open from 11.00 am to 7.00 pm. I went again this last week, to spend more time reading the notes mounted on walls beside most artifacts. I quote from the Internet introduction:

Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to be There

“Geoffrey Bawa’s distinctive career as an architect began with the purchase of an abandoned rubber and cinnamon estate, which he would transform into the garden that is now Lunuganga, in 1948 – in the wake of the country’s newly gained independence from the British Empire. From the very first endeavour the practice is marked by architecture that seeks to understand the notion of place.

“In seeking to understand Bawa’s work through the lens of the Archives, comprised primarily of architectural drawings, a portrait of the practice comes into focus. The drawings are unusually descriptive of place, beyond its location on a map, and place is explored in many layers of culture, history and environment that characterize a site.

“Although Bawa’s work has been exhibited in multiple venues in the UK, USA, Australia, India, Brazil, Singapore and Germany, this is the first exhibition on Bawa’s work to be shown in Sri Lanka.

“The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue publication including essays by Geoffrey Bawa, Sean Anderson, Shirley Surya, Tariq Jazeel, Jyoti Dhar, Meghal Perera, Shayari de Silva and a foreword by Channa Daswatte.”

A whole series of public programs were listed in a large catalogue to be picked up at the entrance, comprising guided tours in the three languages, gallery talks and workshops.

Personal impressions

Well ordered, aesthetically planned and clearly displayed sketches, plans, photographs and models in spaces that emanated peace and a sense of the sacred, offered a sanctuary to tired bodies and stressed minds. The most noteworthy to me was that every note, notice and descriptive board was in the three languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. You were free to roam around as you pleased and plenty of strategically placed seats were an asset to rest feet and gaze long at a display or just imbibe the ambience.

Walking through the exhibition I delightfully remembered holidays at the Bawa designed hotels along the western coast; many stays at Kandalama, two with my architect son who disappeared on his wanderings no sooner we got our rooms; and then ‘educated’ me on the finer points of the marvelous building that just merges into the trees and creepers of the surroundings, A monkey once looked hard at me as I sat in the balcony of my room reading the New Yorker I had brought with me. Not liking his undivided attention, I moved inside and gently closed the French window. He darted onto the balcony and while looking at me with definite defiance, he tore my magazine to shreds.

I missed pictures of the Polontalawa unique house with even beds hewn out of rock. There was one picture of the outside of the building, but no more. In contrast the University of Ruhuna had a large model and many detailed sketches of it. One wonders what the condition of the buildings are now, judging from the desecration of the residence halls of the University of Peradeniya.

I need to commend the young persons who were in attendance at the exhibition. I went with a person who had been connected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka (NOT a politician) who said he felt the lack of much on the Parliament building, one of Bawa’s most outstanding contributions to the country and to architecture. The young man to whom the opinion was voiced, said, probably in explanation, that the Parliament building has much written about it.

While in the building I heard a heavy downpour outside. My concern was how to get to the main road and car. The young man at the exit was most solicitous and offered to take the two of us under an umbrella. Opening the door we were relieved to find the rain had ceased.

The second exhibition

This exhibition of Sri Lankan art is at Crescat Boulevard, adjacent to the Cinnamon Grand in Colombo 02. Titled Encounters it is scheduled to run from February 11 through August 28, 2022.

I quote the website: “Does a chance encounter between one thing and another alter how something familiar or commonplace is otherwise seen? Can two artworks placed side by side reveal something new about each of them?”

Then is given info on the exhibition as “a sequence of changing displays which bring together six encounters between artworks from the 1950s to the present.” The paintings for display were selected from John Keells Holdings and the George Keyt Foundation collections. “The six encounters propose playful and at times contentious comparisons between the familiar and unexpected.” Visitors are invited to return to Encounters over the course of three rotations.

To me the most startling was the huge painting by Senaka Senanayake at the entrance; the most unique the tapestries or curtains hanging down with charcoal paintings of life-size women on handwoven grey cloth depicting those of the North who lost loved ones during the civil war and after.

Impressive and appreciated were the young curators, girls this time who were ever willing to explain the displays as you relaxed in the strategically placed cushioned ottomans.

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka which mounted the exhibition is a new education led institute with the “aim of establishing a public dedicated display, research collection and conservation of modern and contemporary art museum that is compelling, inclusive and relevant to the art histories that are unique to the context of Sri Lanka.”

Both the MMCA and the Bawa Trust need to be commended for putting together these two visual feasts for the public to experience and appreciate, and for making them accessible to all by not charging for admission and ensuring that all material is presented in the three languages.