of his paintings is of a scene in the zoo. In the cages are not lions or
tigers but a very common bird, namely the crow, and in the background are
people offering milk rice or the famous 'Kaputu dhane.' The crow according
to him, will very soon be a 'dying' species of bird due to pollution."
another painting, with bridal couples of different races, depicts the
destruction of war. The special feature here is that all the bridegrooms are
sans legs - victims of the cruel war. The manner in which he brings his
ideas to the surface is quite amusing. God Siva rejects the offerings, for
the fruits in the baskets are contaminated with pesticides" - Pasanna
artist Gunasekara refers to is S. H. Sarath who has made a name for himself
locally and internationally in the past few years. Today some of his
paintings are in galleries and private collections around the world, but to
Sarath his journey through the world of art has not been an easy one.
the day-to-day problems in a person's daily life and trying to put that idea
into a painting is not an easy task. But to Sarath if he doesn't paint with
a set theme there is no value to that piece of art. Sarath uses oil paints
on canvass and paper. However his black and white line drawings are worth
mentioning as they explain to the viewer many incidents that most of us as
human beings have to face in life.
of Sarath's recent paintings depicts the trauma humans go through these days
especially with the heavy bills and fines imposed on water, telephone and
on December 25, 1947, Sarath is the son of a trader. Having grown up in the
rural surroundings of Tallaramba, a small village near the southern coastal
town of Weligama, unknown to even himself, Sarath was soon to become a
budding artist. "I studied at Sri Sumangala Maha Vidyalaya and
Siddartha Maha Vidyalaya. However my interest in art gradually grew in my
early years" explained Sarath.
to Sarath his rural life among the birds, the sea, and the ancient paintings
on the walls of the village temple influenced him and became his cultural
base. After a five year course Sarath received his Diploma from the
Government College of Fine Arts in 1973. In the following year renowned
Sinhala scholar and novelist Martin Wickremasinghe recognised Sarath as a
promising and abstract painter.
1979 through an UNESCO scholarship, Sarath completed a painting course at
the University of Fine Arts, Bangkok.
has held many successful exhibitions in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand,
Scotland, Bangla- desh, Brazil, Norway, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, UK, Cuba,
Russia, China, Wales, South Korea, India, Japan, Germany and Sri Lanka. Some
of Sarath's paintings can be seen hanging on the walls of UNICEF, in art
galleries of Australia, Norway and Yugoslavia, and at the Sri Lanka
Presidential State Collection.
from his successful career as a painter Sarath has in the past worked as an
art director in the film industry, as an art project officer at the Ministry
of Education and Higher Education for 11 years, and co published a superbly
illustrated book on Sri Lankan children's art in Norway.
latest exhibition will be held at the Artists' Gallery at Sarasavi Gardens,
Nugegoda from December 21 to 23.
ultimate Christmas experience!
Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
the habit of doing something different, S. Thomas' College Drama Society
this time ventured forth to present the ultimate Christmas experience
to theatre lovers.
a unique production, the Drama Society under the guidance of Vinodh
Senadeera, who has to his credit many productions staged by STC, presented
Christmas Perpetua, - simply awesome to say the least. It was a refreshing
change to witness a production well coordinated and which also managed to
keep the audience on their toes till the end.
compared with the normal Christmas productions, Christmas Perpetua was
definitely avant-garde and the play had professionalism, which carried the
play to its end.
was most surprising was the fact that it was presented by school boys.
Anyone, who witnessed the play would definitely agree that at some point or
the other - during the play - the feeling that the play portrayed a well
seasoned cast was rather difficult to shake away. It was then that it was
even harder to believe that most of the cast consisted of newcomers, who
have taken to the stage for the first time.
cast on the whole took to the stage with confidence and determination, of
doing their best and that they did.
adaptation of the Nativity, the play took the audience from the vision of
the angels to the shepherds guarding their flocks by night, to the three
great kings and the visitation, as they all welcome the birth of Christ.
uniqueness of this play was the fact that it was an allegory, as many scenes
symbolised what is to be expected in the future with the true hidden
meanings underlying each situation and character.
play commenced with a dance sequence by the host of angels and with the head
Archangels, Michael, Gabriel and the Angel of Passion, (Neraj Saluwadana,
Dejan de Zoysa and Ranshan Gomez). The opening sequence depicts the fall and
banishment of Lucifer (Vivek Jayasuriya) from the domains of heaven.
Progressing it evolves into a divine feud between the warrior angel, Michael
and Lucifer as the evil one speaks of the temptations of the Son of God and
of death, destruction and the fires of everlasting torment which he will
manifest on earth. Yet the angels re-affirm the Holy One who will descend to
cast away the power of darkness and its baneful prince.
next scene was of a group of shepherds (Dineshka Aluvihare, Yehan Ranasinghe,
Shehan Gomez, Dasith De Silva, Malinka Ranasinghe, Neomal Wickremesekara)
who lead their sheep about the city of Jerusalem, as the Angel Gabriel
appears to them bidding them to visit the Holy Child, in the Holy City. The
scene then moves on to Mary's (Shadrach Jurianz, Rizvy Shabeer) and Joseph's
(Mevan Kiriella Bandara) arduous journey to Bethlehem as they are rejected
of any place to rest by the inn keeper (Ashan Sirisena ), while at last they
find shelter in a lonely manger.
next three scenes portray the journey, adoration and return of the three
wise men (Chaminda Samaraweera, Naresh Navaratne, Dhaham Ratnayake). The
salvation of humanity is portrayed in the next scene where two mothers (Tariq
Jayasuriya, Sachith Vidanapathirana) weep for their slain children in
play eventually leads to the climax, with another dance by the angels as the
arch-angels and Gabriel finally portray the glory and the splendor on of the
Ascension as Gabriel raises the crown of thorns, which symbolises the
victory over death and the salvation of all mankind.
add to the uniqueness of the play the roles of angels are personified to a
great extent, as the three Arch Angels are always present throughout the
entire play as they narrate the story in pauses and spread their heavenly
wings over the righteous and just.
the scenes progressed, carols were sung by soloists (Chanuka Piyarisi,
Sandesh Bartlett, Niran Illangakoon, Asitha Tennekoon, Dillon Fox, Asanka
Perera) joined at times by the entire choir of over 130 voices as well.
it was not only the play - the audience was entertained three times over as
Christmas Perpetua was not only limited to the play, but dances and songs as
that needs to be commended is the handling of props throughout the play.
Staged at the college sports complex, the cast did an excellent job in
handling the props, which were sometimes done through a dance sequence. That
definitely was innovative thinking.
show, which was held from December 11 - 14, was directed by Vinodh Senadeera.
The music was directed by Mary Ann David and choreography by Shohan
Chandiram. The second half of the show was hosted by Delon Weerasinghe and
I felt at the end of the play was the dedication of the cast and those
behind the scenes, as it would have been rather difficult to stage such an
excellent production without it. All in all it was a fantastic production
Perpetua was meant to be the ultimate Christmas experience and the ultimate
Christmas experience it was.
memories and good old fashioned Meloney Magic with a yuletide flavour comes
alive over the airwaves of the Commercial Service of the SLBC come December
23. Veteran broadcaster Derek Meloney has kept his promise to the thousands
of listeners who have bombarded his email address with 'Please come home for
will be the first time that listerners of the Commercial Service will have
Melony Magic at Christmas time. Derek invites listeners to "come join
me on the air waves of your families favourite radio station for more music
memories and good old fashioned Meloney Magic with a yuletide flavour."
An exhibition of paintings by Maaike will be held at the Artistes' Gallery Sarasavi Gardens, Nugegoda from December 26 to 28 from 10am to 7pm.
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