Archives: Gallery Items

Fence VIII (2018)

Pen on paper Collection the artist First published: Brick Literary Magazine, Issue 102, Toronto, Canada, 2018 Nilani Joseph’s drawings feature barbed wire pylons, cement sacks, flattened tar barrels, dried palmyra leaves and a variety of other physical boundary-making objects that she witnessed springing up across the landscape of her hometown, Jaffna. Though the citizens of Read More

Fence VII (2018)

Pen on paper Collection the artist First published: Brick Literary Magazine, Issue 102, Toronto, Canada, 2018 Nilani Joseph’s drawings feature barbed wire pylons, cement sacks, flattened tar barrels, dried palmyra leaves and a variety of other physical boundary-making objects that she witnessed springing up across the landscape of her hometown, Jaffna. Though the citizens of Read More

Journey II (2015)

Ink on paper, tin box Collection the artist First exhibited: ‘Seven Conversations’, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2015 G. Samvarthini’s hometown is located in the district of Puttalam. The artist spent 5 years travelling 270 km to the North, to Jaffna. Moving back and forth during this time, from areas that were under government Read More

Journey I (2015)

Ink on paper, tin box Collection the artist First exhibited: ‘Seven Conversations’, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2015 G. Samvarthini’s hometown is located in the district of Puttalam. The artist spent 5 years travelling 270 km to the North, to Jaffna. Moving back and forth during this time, from areas that were under government Read More

Rest (2012)

Safety pins Collection the artist First exhibited: ‘New Works’, Theertha Red Dot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2012 For many years Manori Jayasinghe has used the commonplace safety pin to create sculptural forms that explore issues of vulnerability and danger. Using the pin as if it were a piece of thread, she weaves them into surfaces, Read More

Thorns V (2011)

Ink on paper Courtesy the artist and Saskia Fernando Gallery First exhibited: ‘Drawings’, two-person exhibition of drawings by Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Jagath Weerasinghe, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Breese Little Gallery, London, United Kingdom, 2012 ‘Thorns’, a series of drawings, responds to the detention camps that were established in the north of Sri Read More

This Is Not a White Flag VII (2012)

Mixed media on board Courtesy the artist and Saskia Fernando Gallery First exhibited: ‘Colombo Art Biennale’, JDA Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2012 In 2012, Chandraguptha Thenuwara made a series of works titled ‘This Is Not a White Flag’ in homage to the Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte’s well-known work ‘Treachery of Images’ from 1928-29. Read More

Ravana (1991)

Ink on paper Collection the artist First exhibited: Kalaithuthu Kala Mutram, Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 2018 In the 1990s, following the departure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force from the island, Nillanthan made a series of ink on paper drawings in response to the escalation of the civil conflict. Aerial shelling, mass displacements and an increase Read More

Nightscapes (1999)

1 work, oil on board Private collection, Colombo First exhibited: ‘Nightscapes’, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1999 In the 1990s Muhanned Cader rented a studio on the edge of Bolgoda River, situated in a quiet suburb south of the capital Colombo. During this period he made a series of 40 paintings called ‘Nightscapes’, which capture Read More

Nightscapes (1999)

3 works, oil on board Collection the Sansoni Family, Colombo First exhibited: ‘Nightscapes’, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1999 In the 1990s Muhanned Cader rented a studio on the edge of Bolgoda River, situated in a quiet suburb south of the capital Colombo. During this period he made a series of 40 paintings called ‘Nightscapes’, Read More

Nightscapes (1999)

15 works, oil on board Collection the artist First exhibited: ‘Nightscapes’, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1999 In the 1990s Muhanned Cader rented a studio on the edge of Bolgoda River, situated in a quiet suburb south of the capital Colombo. During this period he made a series of 40 paintings called ‘Nightscapes’, which capture Read More

Lionel Wendt Caricature (c. 1940s)

Watercolour and pen on paper Beling Family Collection, Colombo First exhibited: ‘Sketchbook: An Exhibition of the Beling Family Collection to Commemorate the 100th Birth Year of Geoffrey Beling (1907–1992)’, Sapumal Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2008 Aubrey Collette was one of the founding members of the ’43 Group— a collective of modern mid-20th-century artists established in Read More

Safety Pin (2009)

Safety pins Collection the artist First exhibited: ‘Anniversary Exhibition of Women and Media Collective’, Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2009 For many years Manori Jayasinghe has used the commonplace safety pin to create sculptural forms that explore issues of vulnerability and danger. Using the pin as if it were a piece of thread, Read More

Broken Palmyrah (1999)

Photographs Collection the artist First performed: VAFA Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1999 ‘Broken Palmyrah’ is Godwin R. Constantine’s first performance work and one of the earliest examples of contemporary performance art in Sri Lanka. The performance was advertised as a “homage to Rajini Thiranagama at an auspicious time between 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm, after Read More

Somewhere Between Truth and Its Telling (2007/2012)

Archival materials Courtesy the artist and Floating Space Theatre Company Archive ‘Somewhere Between Truth and Its Telling’ was first performed as two standalone works: ‘In a Shadow—an Evening of Performance Poetry’, St Andrew’s Scots Kirk, Colombo, Sri Lanka, November 2007 and ‘Stranger Than Fiction’, Siobhan Davies Studios, London, United Kingdom, April 2012 ‘Somewhere Between Truth Read More