PIX A Photography Quarterly

7/29/2019 PIX A Photography Quarterly

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THE SRI LANKA ISSUE


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METAMORPHOSIS

Shehn Kunk, Gues We

The word brings to mind insects. Science

book diagrams of caterpillars becoming

butterflies. A Kafka story of a man waking

up as a giant bug.

Metamorphosis is something more

than just change. It is a transformation

where the after is unrecognisable from the

before. It can be instantaneous, like Banner

turning into Hulk. It can be prolonged, like a

frog emerging from tadpole, as unexpected

as a kingdom falling or as quiet as ahealing wound.

It is the past becoming the now; the

broken becoming the whole as Sri La nka

is transforming, from war porn to tourist

brochure; from third world mess to Asian

hopeful. Taking its time, some say and

happening too fast, say others. It is the dark

ages before our renaissance, the difficult

puberty that were told will pass.

So how long before our voices crack?

How long before we come of age? Will

Lanka wake to find itself transformed into

a butterfly? Or into a cockroach?

You wont find the answers in

newspapers, on the streets, in the brayingof Parliament or in the forecasts from afar,

but you may find it in a photograph.

A lens can capture a wave unfurling,

a frown deepening or a sunset turning

to gold. It notices change before we can.

Sufferers becoming survivors, landscapes

changing hue, tides shifting, and the

shadow giving way to light.

A camera sees wonder in lovers under

umbrellas, in abandoned bikes, in grass

blowing in the breeze. And transforms the

All images from the series Before Tomorrow

by Yannik Willing

Doorman Chattu Kuttan, Hotel Galle Face, Colombo,

September 2011, Medium Format 6 x 7 negative film

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All images from the series Before Tomorrow

by Yannik Willing

Above: Construction site for a luxury hotel, Passikudah,


Facing Page: Dehiwela Bridge, Colombo,


Page 5: Father and son, Arugam Bay, February 2011,

Medium Format 6 x 7 negative film

Page 6: Galle Face Green, Colombo, September 2011,


Page 7: Soldier, Arugambay, August 2011,


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act as silent testimonies to their own volatile histories.

However, the changes in Sri Lanka since 2009, which marks

the end of the civil unrest, have been radical, often media driven,

and very often with the sway of commerce, seeking to globalise,

democratise and popularise. In the midst of this, photography

practice has been difficult to surmise as the contemporary

itself is infused so much with memorythough the process of

ideating and constructing have surely begun. And so, in Sri Lanka,

what may be considered War Photography for instance, is a point

of rendezvous as well as memorialisation, the remembrance of a

space that has now drastically changed, though much censorship

remains. What then does photography achieve, when its reception

is curtailed? The civil war and its resultant pitfalls that marksso much of the journalistic work from the outside looking into

Sri Lanka from the late 70s, lays claim to the present, but there

are moments of imaginative amnesia, and creative zest that

challenges this past.

The contemporary moment and temperament of

photography in Lanka, which would have never been achieved

in this issue without Dominic Sansonis generous advice and

contribution, arises as much from a sense of wondering and

reconciliation as from a fresh self-awareness: life has indeed

changed and so should the visual culture that propels it.

Consequently, the personal endeavours by upcoming as well as

professional individuals manages a clear disjuncture from the

earlier work of the 80s, as does the sense of candidness when

looking at the religious fusion at a societal level. Our interactions

have therefore yielded an embrace of diversity, looking always toundermine the despotism and hatred that was once rampant.

As is the case with most collaborative endeavours, we would

like to mention that this issue provides only one view of the

photography scene in Sri Lanka rather than a blanket about the

state of photography there as a whole. Neither is it intended as

an Indian opinion of Sri Lanka, seeking to achieve its own goals of

authority and claim, as the final selections have been arrived at

after interactions from within. The true chronicle of the aims and

achievements of photography initiatives in Lanka would primarily

begin from inside the country, once the history of photography

practice has been unearthed, archives preserved and studied, and

specific institutions formed to confront the mantle of change.

BEyOnd WAR: A COMMEnT On

COnTEMPORARy SRI LAnkAn

PHOTOgRAPHy

tnv Msh

Doctors are often asked by their patients about how long it

might take for them to recover from their ailments. No matter

how complicated the injury, the convalescence period is one of

healing, transformation and optimism. But what happens when

a community of people, or in fact an entire nation is wounded?

For a country like Sri Lanka, that has been ravaged by civil war for

close to three decades, one may ponder how the citizens have

resurrected themselves, transformed their lives and returned to

some legible form of normalcy.On a recent visit to Sri Lanka, the only country I have

travelled to that has had a prolonged period of conflict in

our recent past, these were some of the questions that came

to mind. The visit, a reconnaissance for this issue, was an

initial effort to uncover what constitutes the contemporary

photography scenario on this island. How was it that in all

conversations surrounding South Asian photography, there

would be mention of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and even Nepal,

but rarely ever, Sri Lanka? Was Sri Lanka itself accountable for the

lack of an engagement with the outside world or was it somehow

a victim to a global, political, and cultural amnesia? Furthermore,

had its volatile history gone so far as to suppress an entire

medium of photographic expression from coming forth?

Within the first few days in Colombo, we were introduced to

the work of Stephen Champion, who for three decades tirelesslydocumented Sri Lanka. From the gruesome reality of the war

to the beauty he found in banal daily life incidents, Champion

developed a visual form that I believe is integral to the history

of Sri Lanka. It bolstered the idea that the photograph is not just

an aesthetic endeavour, but one that serves as a tool to create a

visual database during and post the civil war years, i.e. 1983-2009.

His work therefore opened up the possibility of finding other

photographers who documented, but also emerged from this

crucial period in Sri Lankas history. It was then that we came

across Japanese photographer, Q. Sakamakis images on the same

subject. Shot over a shorter period of time, he captures the high

intensity of the civilian infighting. There are guns and soldiers,

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there are graves and there is family; suicide bombers and refugee

camps; Sakamaki chooses to tell his version of the story with a

humanitarian appeal but with a sharp focus on military propaganda

and the atrocities.

Apart from nominating Stephen Champion and Q. Sakamaki

in the Special Features, the other selections for the issue were

selected through an open call for submissions. It was encouraging

to see the submissions ranging a wide spectrum of themes, far

removed from the issue of insurgency.

Almost as an epilogue to Sakamakis chapter, Jagath

Dheerasekaras work titled Victims/Survivorsresounds with irony

as the notion of war comes rushing to mind. The images intimate

that there are also other societal issues, other than war, that

are associated with violent acts that plague the people/womenof his country. His images of female burn victims with masks

covering their wounds spark an interest in the 'veil' that some

of them are forced to wear. It is almost as if they are awaiting a

transformationa physical as well as societal reckoning.

Dominic Sansoni on the other hand chooses to introduce

viewers to the diverse ethnic communities of Colombo 13.

Despite the Tamil-Sinhala conflict, he showcases a community of

Christians, Buddhists and Hindus living together harmoniously in

tightly packed, bright-coloured Lego-like houses. His photographs

successfully portray the lurid aesthetic of the neighbourhood. The

arresting portrait of Mr. Srimas, with Christ on one and the devil on

the other shoulder; bright green walls decorated generously with

posters of Jesus and a sensationally pink interior that marks the

send-off of a Christian bride, Sansonis images draw attention to

the unusual and curious characters of this neighbourhood.Departing from the social commentary format, Ruvin de Silvas

The Dead Girls Project as well as Liz Fernandos Trincomalee: The

Lost Photographs, are both fictional constructs. Fernandos images

attempt to recreate a personal narrative through her fathers

anecdotes. Her photos are like fleeting episodes, momentarily

taking the viewer back to pre-war Trincomalee, a place that has

forever been transformed, existing in an idyllic state only in her

fathers mind, though nurtured once more through Lizs own

intervention. Ruvin de Silvas dead girls however, are entirely

imaginary constructs. In the format of 4 short stories, he looks at

death itself as a kind of metamorphosis, as a process where the

spirit leaves the soul and resurrects, over and over again. These

images seem to show that process in motion, as if each one is

about to disappear in the blink of an eye.

The issue also includes topics as varied as the Sri Lankan film

industry, the little-known Dawoodi Bohras of Colombo, a graphic

interpretation of plants and their role in urban surroundings and aseries of single images by different photographers capturing every

day moments of life in Sri Lanka.

Taking a look at the entire issue, it seems that the medium of

photography in Sri Lanka is just about beginning to emerge, on a

level beyond mere aesthetic quality. The overall healing process

for the country will hopefully provide a greater security for these

creative endeavours. For Sri Lankan photography, this might be the

time to take bolder steps and work towards freeing oneself from

the constraints imposed by their immediate history. This issue of

PIX attempts to begin a dialogue in that direction, to take stock

of that which has now been composed, and use it to rapidly move

forward.

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Alefia Abarall

Acts f Fath : Th Dawd Bhas

Dawoodi Bohras are the main stream of the Bohras, a sub-sect of

Isma'ili Shia Islam, emerging primarily from India. Their spiritual

leader is Dr Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin. He is also known

as the Dai al-Mutlaq and is the 52nd Dai in an unbroken chain

of Daiyyun. The Dai al-Mutlaq is the Imam's vicegerent, with full

authority to govern the Dawoodi Bohra community in all matters

both spiritual and temporal.

Dr. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin is the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq

of the largest group of Musta'li Ismailis, the Dawoodi Bohras.

He celebrates Ashura or Ashara Mubaraka (the first 10 days of

Moharram), in any one city around the world. Ashura (the tenth of

Moharram) is the anniversary of Husaynibn Ali's death. This event isof great significance to the community. Members from around the

world descend to hear the Syedna's sermon on the Battle of Karbala

by the Dai. Each city or town has a locally appointed deputy of

Syedna who leads the local congregation during these days.

All images from the seriesActs of Faith

Colombo

2007, Digital

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin being

carried into the Hussaini Masjid.

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Ashura Mubaraka 2007 (Hijra 1428) was heldin Colombo, Sri Lanka. Being born into the Bohra

faith, I had a unique opportunity to capture

the images of Dawoodi Bohras during their

ceremonial practice of the Ashura.

At this time, a visible transformation occurs

in the city that rapidly caters to the swelling

crowds, as more than 20,000 devotees arrive in

Colombo to partake in the ten day ritual. Massive

structures are built, permits are obtained,

roads are formed, and almost overnight, vastexpanses and empty plots are flushed with

food stalls, transportation, security guards and

accommodation facilities.

Ashura brings forth a spiritual metamorphosis

as well. The sense of community is redefined and

the followers are united in one cause, as devotion

and worship meld with time and space to create a

riveting spiritual experience.

Facing Page Above: A senior member

finds solitude reading the Holy

Quran, while others prepare for the

start of Ashura.

Facing Page Below: "Saya", long

white jackets worn by the men in

the Dawoodi Bohra Community, are

placed over the temporary ceiling

fans.

Above: "Mataam", the hitting of

one's chest with one or two hands,

reaches a climax during the last days

of Ashura.

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From the series Acts of Faith

Colombo, 2007, Digital

Women await the arrival of the Dai

al- Mutlaq, the Syedna at Saifi Villa, Colombo.

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All images from the series

Acts of Faith

Colombo

2007, Digital

Above: A young boy peers down

into the mens floor. He stands in

a temporary space, which has been

suspended over the ground floor and

under the first, built to cater to the

massive crowds.

Left: Burhani Guards, the official

security personnel of the Dawoodi

Bohras are flown in from Mumbai for

crowd control.

Left: The elders, with limited

mobility, occupy the driveway of

the mosque premises and watch the

sermon on television screens.

Below: Bohras enter the mosque

premises through the Colombo Plan

Road "under construction".

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The personal documentary film I am producing, titled My

Mothers Village, explores how my Sri Lankan companions are

confronting heredity, and offers a unique opportunity to creatively

explore my own heredity as the son of an anthropologist mother

and filmmaker father.

These visual notes from the field offer behind-the-scene

fragments from the production of my personal documentary

film. In one sense, the subjects and participants are obscured or

hidden because I don't fully understand them; on the other hand,

I am attempting to exploit the benefit of being an outsiderof

potentially seeing things that residents are perhaps too familiar

with, and hence may not notice. As a consequence, this selection

of images reflects my personal impressions and journey of being 'inthe field'.

Aaro BurtoTh Dstanc f a Whs: Nts f th Fd

A few years before I was born, my mother, Sharon Bell and father,

Geoff Burton, made a series of three ethnographic films in and

about Sri Lanka. Four women, a community of fishermen, and a

traditional dance instructor became their subjects and friends.

Three decades later, I had the privilege to revisit my parents films,

return to the villages where they lived and focus my lens on the

next generation of cultivators, fishermen, dancers and family

friends.

Top: Vimalasiri is the son of one of the original participants of my mothers film

Dancers Were Only Allowed to Dance, filmed in 1978, about traditional low-

country dance and corresponding caste discrimination at that time.

2011, Digital

Bottom: Chandrawathie is one of the original participants of my mothers film

Four Women also filmed in 1978. My mother lived in Kanewala village for two

years conducting anthropological field research.

2011, Digital

Facing Page Above: Morning train from

Colombo to the cool climate hills of Kandy.

2010, Digital

Facing Page Below: Entrance steps to

Lunuganga Estate, country home of renowned

Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa.

2010, Digital

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From the series

Deinstituionalisation

Ararat

September 2011-January 2012

Digital

From left to right:

Hand basin, October 2011

Baking area, December 2011

Criminal ward, September 2011

Above: Mirisavatiya Dagoba, built by

King Dutugemunu, in the sacred city

of Anuradhapura. 2010, Digital

Right: Standing Buddha image in the

ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

2011, Digital

Dawn fishing at Arugam Bay.

2010, Digital

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Dehiwala Beach.

2011, Digital

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Stephe SpeCiAl FeATure


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StepheChampioCs f Chang

SpeCiAl FeATure

In this body of work, I show

the themes of my books War

Stories and Dharmadeepa and

excerpts from my new work,

Colours of Change.

Facing page: Bloody

aftermath of bombing,

Jaffna, 1988, Medium Format

From Sri Lanka War Stories,

2008

This is a photographic study

created with the passage

of time about balance

(Dharmadeepa), conflict (War

Stories) and the new urban

(Colours of Change).

Left: Shop full of corpses,

Batticaloa. 1988,

Medium Format

From Sri Lanka War Stories,

2008

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poster hoardings advertising paradise dominate the skylines.


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Left: Internally Displaced People's (IDP)

camp, Trincomalee. 1991, Medium Format.

From Sri Lanka War Stories, 2008

Facing Page: Refugees returning from

India to Tallaimannar. 1989,

Medium Format


Below: Patient at prosthetic limbreplacement centre, Killinochchi. 2004,

Medium Format.


The show has been created over nearly three decades from the

1980s until the present day. The exhibition ponders Sri Lankas

changing cultural and physical environment, the legacy of conflict

and the rapid shift of rural and urban lifestyle.

It has been a photographic journey through the cold brutality

of war, the warmth of thatch and home long since gone, and

the searing heat of the new, the modern, the luxurious and the

energetic.

The cities that were once villages have been replaced by

concrete and plastic jungles that begin to close in on us and fill our

days with text and idle chatter.

At what price have we traded those carefree days, for the hurry

and hustle and bustle, perhaps only to achieve a little less?

Even greed is good tonic for the tragedy of war and the

vaccuous legacy that remains. Construction fills the air and

Memories fade and plastic flowers in bright colours clash

and collide in the new chaos of it all. These are the colours of

change.

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Above: Farmer, Vavuniya. 1994,

Medium Format

From Dharmadeepa 2009

Below: Mother bathing child,

Tangalla. 1994, Medium Format


Facing page: Young man in doorway,

Trincomalee. 1995, Medium Format


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Facing page: A9 road worker, near Mankulum. 2012,

Medium Format


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Medium Format

From Colours Of Change 2012

Below: Imitation flowers, Jaffna. 2010,

Medium Format


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Bridal parlour, Kalpitiya. 2011,

Medium Format


Sri Lanka was once admired as a land of balance and was known

as Dharmadeepa meaning Island of the Dharma. The island was

renowned for its fertile natural beauty, advanced irrigation systems

and sophisticated intellectual culture which drew admirers to its

shores from all over the world Today some villages remain oases

of kindness and tolerance, promoting the art of living simply in

an increasingly fractured landscape and often, violent world

In the aftermath of bitter war, forgiveness and reconciliation

must replace the hatred and suffering, so that all those who have

been trapped in the decades-long cycle of violence, will be free to

rebuild their lives and realize the true wealth and beauty of their

land and culture.

Text excerpts from Dharmadeepa

(2009, U.K.)


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dipti desaiSvns

The Gardener

Poem by Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe

A small bamboo plant is pushed firmly into

the earth.

It will grow precariously, high

above the ground.

This is a Japanese Garden

on an apartment balcony,

its design fed everyday in the gardeners heart.

But the gardener has reached out across

the borders.

Now, no concrete ledges, nor time

differences, nor continental oceans

can hold back all that is pouring

into his temperate world.

The walls have burst

and everything

larger than that he is, is flooding in.

Monsoon torrents. Tropical heat.

Suddenly the gardener lets

go ofdesigns and titles.

He dances with the plants. The peat.

The rocks. The water. The air.

The light blinds him.

He knows only that

the heat of the sun searing his skin,

the rain scouring the bamboo earth,

will form their own design.

there are no longer hands separate from the plants bodies

separate from the land, the gardener is everything

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All images from the series Souvenirs,

Colombo,

November 2011, 35mm Digital


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From the series Souvenirs,

Colombo,

November 2011, 35mm Digital

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Vcts/Svvs

Text by Sanjana Hattotuwa

Jaathdheeraseara

Susan Sontag noted that in one version of its utility, the camera

incriminates. But who or what does it incriminate? The subject,

photographer, context, or the viewer? Jagath Dheerasekaras

photos bring this fundamental question to sharp focus and are

to the conscience what deep cerise cuts are to the women he

framesthey hurt.

All image from the series

Victims/Survivors

Burns Unit, National Hospital


The photos frame Arendts notion of the

banality of violence in the flesh. The women

in these photos are clearly subjects of violence,

but not from a domestic context alone. The

photographers distinct perspective

humanises a horror that many would deny or

underplay the existence of in current day

Sri Lanka. In one photograph, medical

personnel are situated in an operating theatre,

contemplating surgery on a grotesquely

mutilated arm but are transfixed by what they

see. Doctors are not strangers to violence, but in

their gaze is a l arger questionhow do we really

engage with this violence and its perpetrators

especially when either of the two may be close

friends, family, relatives, lovers and colleagues?

There are no satisfying answers to this question

though we may need to reckon with our own

apathy to engage with the situation, at times

justifying a sense of distance by considering it

a private affair. A fleeting gesture, captured by

Dheerasekara, is also transformed into a

powerful symbol of how prevalent gender-based

violence is within our societyit is ordinary,

unexceptional and accepted.

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In another photo, a medical staff member filling out recordsoccupies most of the frame, but then we observe a hand. But

not just any hand. It is a hand waiting for something. Not unlike

women who have gone through the most brutal physical and

psychological scarring, who then seek justice, this handmarginal

to image but absolutely central to the frame once observed

waits. There is a bizarre, almost darkly humorous quality to some

of the images, which is at first jarring but then serves to amplify an

essential humanityeven in pain, it is possible to laugh, including

at oneself. Two of the photos capture women in full frontal portrait

style. The violence captured here is not communicated by a focus

on a sickening stain, scar or swelling, but through how much theyare covered in bandages. In other photos, hands of medical staff

clench and point, visual compositions that intimate the dialogues

between women under treatment and their doctors trying to help

them regain muscle movement and dexterity. It is almost as if the

hands are symbolic of an empathetic bond between patient

and healer.

The photos focus on, but also help to free the subjects.

Dheerasekara takes us into a Burns Unit, but whats framed is more

than brick, mortar and victim. His photos capture survivorsthose

who endure, and those who go on to live. The photos, on theother hand incriminate society, you and I, for often allowing and

instigating violence that creates the subjects in the images.

But far from isolating them as pitiable and weak, the photos

portray women who are already braver, better and more beautiful

than many of us.

All image from the seriesVictims/Survivors

Burns Unit, National Hospital


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LizFerao


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FeraoTnca: Th lst phtgahs

This is a work about a journey through my

father's memoriesa journey to a place where

the objective of a photograph ponders an

evolving interplay between its fragile and fugitive

existence. At a personal as well as academic level,

my own research into the role of photography

in South Asia highlights the different meanings

that photography inhabits, often dealing with the

notions of memory wherein the personal archive

occupies a fundamental space, both aesthetically

and practically within non-western cultures.

Trincomalee in Sri Lanka became synonymous

with the war-ravaged northern region. In

contrast, my fathers stories are not nostalgic

ruminations on its political history but nave and

beautiful little conversational episodes between

a Tamil girl and a Sinhalese boy, describing a

childhood lived in innocence, free from existing

social restrictions. It is a visual journey to a

forgotten past preserved in my minds eye

through precious oral histories relayed by my

father. Though they are at times ambiguous andungraspable, I have tried to formulate them into

touchable and palpable pictorial narratives that

I feel are essential for cultural change and social

development within Sri Lanka. The text, an extract

from a larger piece of writing, oscillates between

the present and the past, dealing with memories

that linger and continue to haunt.


Trincomalee: The Lost Photographs

Trincomalee,

January 2011, Digital

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The earliest memory. Bold letters.

Destination: Trincomalee

Early morning on a November day The


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Early morning on a November day. The

whispering waves of the Gulf of Mannar feel as

close as the familiar calling of the crows.

Every step closer to Trincomalee, the words

around me turned into something alien. Fifty

years ago, Badra the maid used words unknown

to me but she did not speak the language he

speaks to me. I excavate into his mind searching

for memories...

Suddenly he begins to sing; his arms mimicking

Kathakali dance movements and for the first time

I hear him speaking the forgotten language of his

childhood. Pachaikili Paduthu.

I dance and sing with him like I have seen in

the Tamil movies, my skirt, whirling with the shiny

bangles on my wrists, tinkling and, yet his eyes

cannot not follow me.

I close my eyes but the wheels of time

constantly turn around. Dust and wind blow

around my ears. I see a dense green rushing past.

Harsh sunlight breaks into soft shadows.

*That voice, over and over again. Penetrating

my sleep. Carrying me away. Breathing softly

into my ear. Her voice floating from the temple,

Hindi words interjecting ever so often. Her voi ce

wakes me, my eyes still bleary; it comes closer,

from the brimming market nearby. I follow the

small path.

Small, bare feet, my own, running, faster and faster, following

Chandra and the soft clink of her bangles. I heard the tinkling of bells,

fixed on delicate chains running around her fragile ankles while she

dances.

*His dark brown eyes like little buttons look at me and he gives me

his warm hand.

We start singing, and his mother claps her hands, leaning against

the door at Moor Street 60/3, Trincomalee.



Trincomalee


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Trincomalee


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Abb RobisoF indstText by Sasanka Perera

Abby Robinson's work on the film industryoffers a momentary space to reflect upon film,

politics and society in Sri Lanka. Despite being

in existence for over fifty years, there is very

little serious scholarship dealing with Sri Lankan

cinema or even the film industry. Sri Lankan

media usually only focuses on the perceived

glitter of the movie industry, and its decay

as reflected in the lack of a well-conceived

cinema archive for the country hardly enters

the discourse. The resultant loss of historically

significant films is often neglected by the

authorities.

The hallmark Sinhala movie Kadawuna

Poronduwa (Broken Promise), produced in the

1940's, with heavy South Indian influence

ranging from acting style, costuming and stage

sets to technical knowhowwas in many ways,symptomatic of the Sri Lankan cultural landscape

of the time. This continued well into the 1950s,

when the emergent nationalist ethos among the

Sinhalas tended to be reflected in film as well. This

meant that South Indian imagery, music trends

and even technical expertise were self-consciously

localised and in many ways Sinhalised. This phase of

nationalism threw Sri Lanka into a destructive civil

war since the late 1970s, ending only in 2009, and

paved the way for the dawn of an equally disturbing

set of postwar realities.

The bombed out remnants of the once iconic

Regal Cinema in the northern town of Jaf fna which

Robinson has captured, places in context one visual

frame of this widespread destruction. Though movie

theatres are scattered around the country, allowing

Allimages fromthe series

FilmIndustry,

2004-05

Above: Take Two (Bollywooddirector:

Amit Saxena),

BedroomShoot,Colombo,

2004,Panorama Slide

FacingPage: Walapatala/Penumbra

(Sinhalese director:

Vijitha Guneratna),

Police StationShoot,

Neboda,2005, Panorama Slide

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for the popularity of movie-going, the industry has

lost many theatres owing to the advent of television

in the 1970s. In this context, many people stopped

going out for films, which was made much worse by

the ensuing anxieties of the lack of s ecurity as the

civil war raged through the 1980s.

For a considerable time however, the varied

landscape in Sri Lanka has attracted many

filmmakers who now consider the country as a

destination for on-location films, ranging from

David Leans Bridge overRiver Kwai to sections of

Steven Spielbergs Indiana Jonesandthe Temple

ofDoom. More recently, directors from Bollywood

such as Amit Saxena have also started eying Sri

Lanka as a viable destination not only due to its

scenic splendours, but also due to the relative cost

effectiveness in filming. Of late, several Sri Lankan

directors have also been winning international

awards for what may be called art movies produced

in the Sinhala language. But for a majority of

the people in the country, watching movies is

primarily done for a sense of release or to enter

into the imaginary world they offer, away from

daily hardships rather than for their aesthetics or

political nuances.

*Thispho tography project wassponsored by

a grant fromthe AmericanInstitute ofSriLankan

Studies.

Above:Savoy Theatre

Colombo,2004, Panorama Slide

Left:Aynn Theatre,

Mannar,2005,

MediumFormat Slide

Page 54-55:Raja Theatre,

Jaffna 2005,Panorama Slide

Above: Walapatala/Penumbra

(Sinhalese director:Vijitha

Guneratna),

Make-up& DressingRoom, Neboda,

54 | P i X P i X | 55


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56 | P i X P i X | 57


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Above: Poi/Lies (Tamil Nadu director:

K. Balachander),

Beach shoot near Galle,

2005, Medium Format Slide

Top: Abandoned theatre near Galle

2005, Panorama Slide

Bottom: Vijendra, Anuradhupura,

2005, Panorama Slide

P i X | 5958 | P i X


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Above: Regal Theatre, Jaffna,

2005, Medium Format Slide

Above: Poi/Lies (Tamil Nadu director:

K. Balachander),

Crane Shot, Sigiriya, 2008,

Panorama Slide

Left: Jeevan Theatre,

Panadura, 2005, Medium Format Slide

60 | P i X P i X | 61

SpeCiAl FeATure


32/48

Q. Saamai

This photo essay is a coverage of Sri Lankas civil war in the

summer of 2006 when the fighting escalated severely. At the

time, most of the international community thought the war

would be prolonged, and both sides used unwarranted and

unethical tactics, often violating human rights, to get the upper

hand in the war.

S lanka Cv Wa

Above: Tamil civilians undergo

military training in Kilinochchi, a

stronghold of the LTTE rebels, as

the fighting between the Sri Lankan

government and the rebels escalates.

Sticks and branches are used instead

of guns, although rebels have

distributed firearms to the civilian

population.

June 13 2006, 35mm film

Above: The soldiers at the funeral

of a general killed by suicide attack.


62 | P i X P i X | 63


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Above: Children playing soccer in

a field in a war-torn town in North

Sri Lanka. Every day and night the

fighting continues around their

apartment buildings.

June 2006, 35mm film

Above: Muslim civilians including a

baby, who escaped from a nearby

LTTE-controlled village because of

the fighting. They stay at a refugee

camp at a school in a Muslim

Majority area called Mutur, a town in

the Northern Province.

June 17, 2006, 35mm film

Right: Tamils obtain water from a

well in the war-torn town of Jaffna.


64 | P i X P i X | 65


34/48

Below: Sri Lankan Special Forces

patrol in a war-torn majority Tamil

area in Jaffna.


Right: Family members of victims

of the June 15 bus attack mourn

the death of thier relatives before

the mass burial. The attack was the

biggest tragedy since the 2002

ceasefire agreement. The Sri Lankan

government accuses the LTTE rebels

for the terrorist attack, but the Tamil

political organisation denies the

allegation. Kabithigollewa, Sri Lanka.


Left: At a religious poster shop

in the Tamil area in Sri Lanka,

the photos of martyrs, or suicide

bombers, are also displayed.


P i X | 67


35/48

The shadows of mourning relatives fall on a mass

grave, the result of the June 15th bus attack which

killed more than 64 people, many of them women

and children. The situation in the country is at the

brink of all-out war. June 16, 2006, 35mm film

69 | P i XP i X | 68 P i X | 69

domiic


36/48

domiicSasoiCb 13

Colombo 13 is a neighbourhood by the harbour

of Colombo that hosts a thriving, vibrant and

heterogeneous community of people. A church

dedicated to St. Anthony, frequented by peopleof all races, religions and creeds is situated beside

the harbour wall and dominates the area. It is

often said "Kolomba 13, Api okkama ekai", Colomo

13we are all one. The neighbourhood inspires

and intrigues me as a fine example of urban life.

Along the streets a few of the original houses

remain, but most have been converted into

larger residencies. The homes are very colourful,

mirroring the residents who live there. The

community is used to my wanderings around

their streets, have sensed my curiosity and

respect, and fortunately, many have invited me

into their homes.

The pictures have been taken over a period of

fifteen months. My documentation of the area

and its people is a work in progress.


Colombo 13

Digital

Left: Mr. Srimas Harrison of

Ratnam Road, March 2012

Page 70 Bottom:

Holy Pictures, October 2011

70 | P i X P i X | 71


37/48

A bride about to leave for her church wedding, October 2011Hindu Temple and Catholic poster, June 2012

Text by MASii

I look after them like my own children; Constant Henry Lucia

Emilia weighing 2000 pounds, Francis Theresa, 1400 pounds, and

Jean Baptist Edward Anna, who at 950 pounds is the smallest of

them. Of course, Anthony Thomasthe biggest at

4300 poundswill always hold a special place in my heart.

Anthony Thomas is only rung on special occasions and has a bell

tower all of his own, but that does not stop me from polishing him

every week like the rest.

In fact, they are the only family I have left and St. Lucias

Cathedral here in Kotahena, the only world I know. I have worked

here all my life, as did my father and his father before him, going

back to 1760, when there was only a small thatched hut here.

Anthony is my name tooas was every first born male in

our family. Dedicated to the work of this church at childhood, I

was named after the master craftsman from Pondicherry who

supervised the constructionAnthony Pillai Tittaravu Pillai.

My day begins at 4 a.m. when I light a candle to gaze on the

dusky face of Our Lady of Kotahena. I treasure this time alone

with her; soon I will have to share her with an unending stream

of humanity, bringing their trials, their tribulations and only

occasionally their triumphs. Her beauty, but more her patience,

never ceases to amaze me.

Today is no different. Except that I have an uneasy feeling that

I cant find the words for. There is something Soon it will be the

Feast of St Lucia and my namesake will peal out to all of Kotahena;

all the way till where Pettah ends, climbing up to Mutuwal and

eastwards to Grandpass and Hultsdorp.

P i X | 7372 | P i X

As usual, my mind wanders to the past and other happy

occasions. In 1950, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was brought

here. Then there was the visit of His Holiness, John Paul the Second

in 1995 to beatify Ven. Joseph Vaz. The Universal Jubilee was

celebrated with the opening of the main Cathedral doors in 2000.

But the year I was born Anthony Thomas ran out to warn

It happened on the 25th of March 1883, on Easter Sunday. My

grandfather told me of the Kotahena Riots, in which one Buddhist

and one Roman Catholic died and some thirty others, including

twelve police officers, were wounded. .

But what point did these memories serve? Why now? This isnt

1883 Nor is this Black July of 1983


38/48

Left: The bookmaker, June 2012

Below: Home Interior - Newham

Square, April 2012

But the year I was born, Anthony Thomas ran out to warn

Colombo of the air raids which caused the cracks on the dome of

my beloved cathedral.

It is silent today. Perhaps too silent. My disquiet once again rises to

the surface crowding out the memories, but there is one that wont let

go. One that goes back to a time before Anthony Thomas was around

1883. Nor is this Black July of 1983.

What am I afraid of? Wasnt it just yesterday I heard it said

Kolomba 13, Api okkama ekai, Colombo 13, we are all one?"

Facing page:

Wall shrine to St. Anthony,

April 2012

74 | P i X P i X | 75


39/48

Right: Christian corner store,

June 2012

Below: Christian shrine &

Buddhist home, May 2011

Left: Naval Guard of Honour.

St, Anthony's feast, June 2012

76 | P i X

Ruvi e SilvaTh Dad Gs pct


40/48

Text by Indi Samarajiva

A few seconds before his scrawny body became highly and bloodily

compressed on the cobblestones, all of Andares ex-girlfriends

flashed before his eyes.

First there wasthe name slippedthe make-up smeared

one. She was there, falling backwards, away from him. At first he

thought shed come to lift him up, but in the end she was just

drawing him in. Then she split into two, this mercurial Gemini, as

he passed in between.

It was raining again. Sureka was there, in her blue raincoat,

looking sweet, if a bit bloody about the mouth. But now the flesh

cleaves off her skull, her arms spring from their sockets. She is a

corpse, like all these girls h e might have grown old withtheyre

all dead now, springing from stone to drag him in.

The next is Niluka, dressed like a kabuki village girl.

Unknowingly, she stands close to where hes about to land,

curiously, perhaps expectantly. He sees himself springing back

up, bloodied but not unaware. Hes borrowed her clothes. She

looks through him as he rises again. He has a final glimpse of her

All images from the series The Dead Girls Project

Colombo

May 2012, Digital

78 | P i X P i X | 79


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cleavage, something green and red, like fire. That last memory, as

vision and image slips away. Time condenses into the final essential

moments which have his full attention.

His last words: Youre just a falling young man, with your young

loves flashing before your eyescurious, detached, deadeven

undead. These were all vectors to some genetic digital eternity,

but now theyre just flickers on your retina, light sparks within your

brain.

Andare falls, his teeth and skull shattering against the uneven

road.

This is what happens when you take photographs from a ladder.

This image is from the series

The Dead Girls Project

Colombo

May 2012, Digital

80 | P i X P i X | 81

Timoth

B

SiNGleS


42/48

kaa

Aruasalam

Bala Tampoe, the 88-year old union leader

addresses a workers' strike in the outskirts

of Colombo

2011, Digital

Ravi runs a small tailor shop by the side of the Batticaloa

road in Sri Lanka. He has 3 daughters. His wife had passed

away some years ago and he has to be the father and the

mother to the girls. "I was a farmer but because of the

War, we had to move. I could not find a job in this area,

so this is something I thought to do myself. All I have is

my girls and this old sewing machine. Thats all I need,

he told me.

Barco

Tailor shop Ravi

Batticaloa

2008, Digital

Poem by Roel Raymond

Knock.

If you will,

you will find nothing.

Gaze into my eyes,

if you will.

You will see nothing.

Oh,

but I am not nothing;

time wrestled me to the

ground,

punched me

left me for dead.

Memory clung on to me,

weighed my every step,

etched cruel lines on my

face;

experience bent me,

stiffened every bone,

And yet,

If you will,

Knock.

You will find only love.

Gaze into my eyes,

you will see only the locked

secret;

the strength of eternity.

82 | P i X S i N G l E S | 83


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Olivia BoalSasoi

In July 1991, a young soldier from the Sinha Regiment earned the

gratitude of the Nation. Cpl. Gamini Kularatne, later known as 'the

hero of Hasalaka', saved the Elephant Pass camp at the cost of

his own life. In recognition of his heroism, he was posthumously

awarded the 'Parama Weera Vibusha-naya', the highest honour for

bravery in the Sri Lanka Army.

On the night of July 13, 1991 over 5000 LTTE cardres

surrounded the 600 -strong army garrison located at Elephant

Pass, Alimankada. Elephant Pass was known as the gateway to the

northern Jaffna Peninsula. Corporal Gamini Kularatne, along with

the rest of his regiment, was tasked with watching for possible

LTTE infiltrators.

Kularatne, holding two grenades in his hands, dashed out

towards the oncoming bulldozer tank, clambered up the tank's

ladder and tossed the two grenades inside it. The billboard

memorialises this act of bravery.

"Ode to a Hero"

Diptych: Elephant Pass (Alimankada),

North Sri Lanka,

May 10, 2012, 35 mm

84 | P i X S i N G l E S | 85

Iuil

Muasihe"My Wife"

Viharamaha Devi Park , Colombo , Sri Lanka.

May 29 2012 Digital

devaa

Seevirate

Motorbikes and bicycles are by far the most popular

mode of transport in Sri Lanka in general and the Wanni

Abandoned bike yard, Kilinochchi,

Sri Lanka, June 1, 2011, Digital

Petrol sold in Coke bottles, Karunatkerni,

Sri Lanka, June 2, 2011, Digital

in Kilinochchi, the de facto LTTE capital. Two

years after the war ended, the bikes remain


44/48

Muasihe May 29, 2012, Digitalbrand in particular.

When you are on the run however, even the bikes

get left behind. As people moved on to safer areas, bikes

and other vehicles were abandoned. This is a bike yard

hundreds of them, with weeds taking over.

The petrol sold in Coke bottles are for the

lucky few who lived to find their bikes.

86 | P i X S i N G l E S | 87


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Avai Taa

Well isn't this nice,

to sit side by side

with my thigh on your skirt

where we don't need to hide.

Your Thathi, he's scary

(I don't think he approves...)

And we shouldn't be touching

according to their rules.

But none of that.

I love you.

So let me kiss both your lips

as I hold both your hands,

under our little umbrella

on the kind Galle Face sand.

From the series Lovers

Galle Face, Colombo

July 2011, Digital

desha

TeeooThe southwest monsoon causes

flooding in the capital.

Lauries Road, Colombo 3

May 17, 2010, Digital

LoversPoem by Shruthi Mathews

88 | P i X S i N G l E S | 89

Wts

SANjANA HATToTuWA is the Founding Editor ofGroundviews

(www.groundviews.org), an award winning citizen journalism

initiative in Sri Lanka. He is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for

Policy Alternatives, and a TED Fellow Alumni.

rAmyA CHAmAlie jirASiNGHe is the author ofTheres an Island

in the Bone, Rhythm of the Sea and Trinity. She is the winner of the

State Literary Joint-Award, 2011. Her work has been published

in anthologies and TimesOnline, 2009 contemporary war poetry

selection She is the Deputy Director for the US-Sri Lanka

SHruTHi mATHeWS is a recent English graduate from University

College London. She spent the last year writing for The Hindu in

India and has contributed to a variety of publications including The

Sunday Leaderin Colombo.

SASANKA pererA, trained as a social anthropologist, is Chair

and Professor in the Department of Sociology and Dean at the

Faculty of Social Sciences at South Asian University, New Delhi.

With an academic interest in urban space, migration and the

politics of culture he is also a blogger a photographer and poet

phtgahs

AleFiyA AKBArAlly is an award-winning Sri

Lankan born photographer living in Houston,

USA. In 2011, she won a prestigious Black

and White Spider Award for a creation from

her fashion portfolio. Her work has appeared

in Vogue Australia, The British Journal of

Photography, Bently UK and Business Traveler

Asia. Her documentation of social issues include

work on a cancer hospital teenage mothers

Indian Express, Outlook, Le Monde, Paris Match

and Financial times. www.diptidesai.com

jAGATH DHeerASeKArA is an Amnesty

International Human Rights Innovation

Fund Grant recipient. His second spell of

photography began in mid 90s with his return

to Sri Lanka from France. He was a finalist for

the William and Winifred Bowness

Photography Prize in 2011 and 2012 and deals

Colombo based collective called Three Blind

Men. What Dominic likes doing best is traveling

the world with no agenda.

www.threeblindmen.com

oliViA BoNAl SANSoNi was born in Paris to a

French father and a Sri Lankan mother. She is

an avid traveller and passionate photographer

who believes in the importance of pursuing

photography with humor compassion and


46/48

selection. She is the Deputy Director for the US Sri Lanka

Fulbright Commission.

Sri Lankan writer SHeHAN KAruNATilAKA is the author of

Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, which won the 2012

Commonwealth Book Prize.

mASii (miKe mASilAmANi) has had his poetry read and

performed at venues ranging from the British Council in

Colombo and Kandy to the Galle Literary Festival. The Travelling

Refugees Circus adapted from his short story The Boy who

Spoke in Numbers, was performed in Chennai at the Hindu

Metroplus Festival 2011.

Passikudah, 2011

From the series Before Tomorrow

byYannik Willing


politics of culture, he is also a blogger, a photographer and poet.

roel rAymoND is a mother, model and journalist based in

Colombo, Sri Lanka, interested in issues relating to human

rights, justice and public policy. Blogs at http://kataclysmichaos.

wordpress.com/ and Tweets at htt ps://twitter.com/

kataclysmichaos

iNDi SAmArAjiVA is a Sri Lankan blogger at indi.ca. He runs kottu.

org, a blog syndicator of over 1,200 people and has co-founded a

Colombo city guide at yamu.lk. Hes done TV and newspapers and

stuff, but the blogging is honestly better.

work on a cancer hospital, teenage mothers,

a missionary school and the biography of an

acclaimed artist.

KANNAN AruNASAlAm uses documentary,

photography and multimedia forms of

storytelling. Originally from Jaffna, he grew up

in England and returned to Sri Lanka in 2004. His

films have been screened at international film

festivals and broadcast on Aljazeera. He is also a

qualified media lawyer and a correspondent for

Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

TimoTHy BArCo is an artist from Sri Lanka who

is also a photographer/filmmaker by profession.

Art photography is his biggest outlet.

www.timothybarco.com

AAroN BurToN is a documentary filmmaker

and photographer specialising in combining

digital photographs and video into personal

documentary installations. His work intends to

traverse the boundaries of documentary, visual

ethnography and video art. In 2009, Aaron was

awarded the inaugural Jeremy Hynes Award by

the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, for his

body of video-based documentaries.

STepHeN CHAmpioN, a London freelance

portrait photographer during the early

1980s, began photographing Sri Lanka in

1985, creating several international touringexhibitions and three books: Lanka 1986 - 1992

(1993 UK), Sri Lanka War Stories (2008 UK) and

Dharmadeepa (2009 UK). Colours of Change is

Champions latest exhibition. It opens in April

2013 at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, London.

DipTi DeSAi is a documentary photographer

based out of Bangalore. Her concerns about

the swift erosion of cultural diversity and

practices by the forces of globalisation has

been an oft-visited theme in her photo essays.

She contributes regularly to national and

international publications including The Hindu,

Photography Prize in 2011 and 2012 and deals

with social and environmental themes in his

documentary work. He has presented his work

in a number of solo exhibitions, selected group

exhibitions and photo festivals in several

countries.

liz FerNANDo was born in West Berlin and is

a recent graduate from the prestigious LCC BA

Photography program. Her work was exhibited at

Tate Modern London and is showcased by

Photoworks Brighton. Currently her award

winning work is on a travelling exhibition with the

World Bank Art Program, New York. She lives and

works in London, Berlin and Colombo.

iNDuNil muNASiNGHe is a final year student at

the National Photographic Art Society of Sri Lanka

and is interested in art photography.

ABBy roBiNSoN lives/works in New York and

teaches at the School of Visual Arts (NYC). Many

projects have been done through grants

the Asian Cultural Council, the Fulbright

Program, the American Institute of Sri Lankan

Studies, the Siskind Foundation and New York

Foundation of the Artsand her photos are in

the collections of The Whitney Museum (NYC),

the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX), the

Portland Art Museum (Portland, OR), and Light

Works (Syracuse, NY). www.abbyrobinson.com

Q. SAKAmAKi is a New York-based Japanese

documentary photographer. His photographs

have appeared in books and magazines

worldwide. He has received many international

awards, including World Press Photo and Olivier

Rebbot of Overseas Press Club. Sakamaki holds

a Masters degree in International Affairs from

Columbia University in New York.

DomiNiC SANSoNi is a photographer based in

Colombo, Sri Lanka since 1979. His recent

publications include Bawa Gardens, Mauritius

Colourband Incognito. He is also part of a

photography with humor, compassion and

curiosity.

DeVAKA SeNeVirATNe moved from a career

in writing and producing television and has

been a professional photographer since 2004.

Commercial and advertising photography

provides the business end to his work, but his

real passion is travelling, documenting the

country, the landscape and its inhabitants.

www.devakaseneviratne.photoshelter.com

ruViN De SilVA wears his heart on his sleeve

and holds his camera in his hands as sets

about capturing the deeper, the darker, the

intricate, the secret, the beautiful and the real.

Ruvin expresses himself through photography,

theatre and the arts. He is the Associate Artistic

Director at the Mind Adventures Theater

Company.

AVANi TANyA, like most people, loves to travel

and take pictures. She is currently based in

Bangalore.

DeSHAN TeNNeKooN read Law at King's

College London before pursuing a career in

photography. In 2009, he received a Fulbright

Award to conduct a photographic project at the

University of California, Berkeley. He is currently

part of a group documenting the changing

landscape of Kalpitiya, a high-biodiversity

coastal area in Sri Lanka.

yANNiK WilliNG studies Integrated Design

in the Master of Arts program in Bremen

(Germany) with a special focus on documentary

photography and publishing. He has a B.A. in

photography from the University of Applied

Sciences and Arts Dortmund (Germany). His

projects have been presented internationally in

galleries and photography festivals.

90 | P i X P i X | 91


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recovery is the theme for the next quarter


48/48

RecoveRy: cRe, ReconstRcton, Resce nd RestoRton

From the ongoing series Bou by Tanvi Mishra, Puri, Orissa, February 2011, Digital

The early part of the 21st century has been dominated

by acts of confrontation, resistance and resolution in thepolitical, cultural as well as ecological sphere. Constantly inmotion, these essential aspects of life go through cyclicalprocesses whereby the manner in which we engage withdifficult situations needs to be creatively and constructivelyapproached. Hence, if we perceive this moment as one thatis inspired by a surge of change, transformation and culturalevolution, we could consider that devastating circumstancesthat cause alterations in life are eventually followed by a timeof healing and recovery.a time that is essential in order to

move on.

This issue of PIX seeks to identify with the necessaryrecuperation period that takes place after one is confronted

PX is about investigating and engaging with broad and expansive fields of contemporary photographicpractice in India, ranging from the application, conceptual standing and adaptability of photography to its

subjects: its movement, transmission, appropriation and distinct relation to the allied arts. The quarterly

seeks not only to present photography in temporal, spatial or historical terms, but also in personal, self-

conscious and aesthetic ways.

with an altercation, whether social, political, ecological or

cultural. The gradual change that occurs in an individuals orin family life in the aftermath of a drastically transformativeevent, also expresses the diverse ways in which people aswell as spaces experience, and adjust to life, often expressingtheir adaptability. This might occur in their interactions withone another or the places they live or work in. How, then, canphotography express this moment, this passage and growthfrom one state of being into another? Are changes always forthe better? or is there indeed recovery at all? On the otherhand, the idea ofrecovery, can also be interpreted as a form

of anaccumulation, a gathering of what really matters at theend, and hence a percolation of lifes essential impulses thatare navigated and often change course, ideally for the better,but at times quite unexpectedly otherwise.

At a thematic or pictorial level such an issue could addressaspects of identitychange, even physical changes inarchitecture or landscape, through reportage or evenconceptual ways of addressing this notion. It is left to thephotographers interpretation given there is a legitimatereason provided.

note: The issue will incorporate works from India and Japanprimarily, with a portion dedicated to works from other S.Asian countries.

Lst dte FoR sBMssons: December 15, 2012.For more information visitwww.pixquarrl.i or email [email protected]

with support from

Documents

PIX A Photography Quarterly