Beauty and the Barbed Wire

At the ongoing solo art exhibition of Sri Lankan artist Priyantha Udagedara at the gallery Exhibit 320, an exuberantly painted canvas of flora, fauna and mythical characters from the Ramayana, with Ram and Sita looking at each other behind a curtain of plants catches the eye. The exuberant canvas is, however, enclosed by barbed wires. It produces a sense of disconnect and it is by design. Further inside the exhibition, a mixed media painting lifts the mood with mythical creatures from the epic. In it, is a soaring Jatayu; a jungle is inhabited by parrots, swans, and monkeys and Hanuman is climbing a boulder; the artwork is brightly hued in red, ochre, green and yellow — when it is again held captive by barbed wire, pushing one to ponder deeply on the contrast between beauty and a sense of terror.

Weathering Waves, features 25 mixed media artworks. They throw light on India and Sri Lanka ties from the lens of their shared past rooted in the myth of the Ramayana to a present-day Lanka mired in socio, political and economic unrest, and facing the harmful impacts of industrial development on its natural and cultural heritage, indicated by the use of barbed wires. “The Weathering Waves show is different because it is a new step in looking at mythology and epics from South Asia as inspiration for a body of work. I’m hoping I can do more of it,” says Udagedara.

Udagedara has had solo and group shows in Australia, India, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Turkey and the United States. This is his first exhibition in Delhi. “Having the show in Delhi is important because it is a hub of art from South Asia. The city has an advanced art ecosystem of museums, galleries, foundations, patrons, art schools and art enthusiasts who want to engage both emotionally and intellectually. That made me have hope for the future of contemporary art in South Asia,” the artist says.

Beauty found and lost

Sri Lanka with its abundance of natural and heritage beauty is often referred to as the Pearl of The Indian Ocean. Its lush rainforests, carpets of tea plantations, pristine beaches, central highlands, national parks, stupas, temples and UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the sacred cities of Anuradhapura and Kandy, have often invited worldwide tourists. However, in the last two decades, it has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Udagedara is from Kandy. He has been closely studying his country’s unfortunate situation as an artist and Head of the Department (HOD) at the Department of History and Theory of Art University of Visual and Performing Arts Colombo. He tells we, "In 2022, the powerful Rajapaksa family regime and their corrupt politics was ousted by citizens’ protests. During their regime, some projects related to ports and seafaring were greenlighted like the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. They were considered necessary for the economic growth of Sri Lanka. I wanted to start a conversation about the long-term ecological, economic, and political impacts of projects like this."

While Udagedara is not "anti-development", he feels Sri Lanka needs to strike a balance between development without harming nature and heritage, so that its idyllic charm is preserved. This is why most of his artworks feature flora, fauna, mythical creatures and topographical features like sea, mountains and rocks. "I use my art to depict a new form of landscape, where the viewer is drawn in by a false sense of beauty. However when viewed closely, the paintings tell a different story, one of fragmented human parts combined with splattered paint. This morbid juxtaposition of beauty, chaos and agony provides an altered story to the previously perceived sense of beauty."

Rasika Kajaria, founder-director, Exhibit 320, says in Weathering Waves, the artworks masterfully capture the tension between terror and beauty. “Udagedara’s pieces provoke thought and speculation, with layers of political and nostalgic undertones that resonate deeply,” she says.

Inspiration from a legend

It’s in remembrance of such lost natural beauty that Udagedara paints vividly. In one such image, a tiny image of Hanuman is seen flying over a royal azure sea, signifying his flight from India to Sri Lanka in search of Sita. In another one, Hanuman is allusively visible, covered in a thick foliage of flora and leaves. Further, scenes from Sita Haran come alive against the backdrop of wild flora and creepers endemic to Sri Lanka. "The Ramayana inspired me for this exhibition because it brings everything together. It focusses on Indo-Sri Lanka relations in a beautiful, mythological, and lyrical way. The current status of Indo-Sri Lanka relations also remind me of the epic," Udagedara says, adding that the most exciting characters he used was the monkey god Hanuman whose image seems to recur in his works.

"It is said that Hanuman helped move mountains and rocks in order to build this literal and metaphorical bridge called Ram Setu. His strength and loyalty are portrayed in many of my paintings. However, in India’s current political climate, he is associated with the patriarchal, undefeated and even chauvinistic power of an oppressive Hindu regime. I am aware of this, and I want us to remind ourselves about what Ramayana was originally about lyricism, loyalty, and the power of love over everything,” he says, reminding us of the ideals of life one can imbibe from the legend, to solve conflicts when life poses existential threats, be it for a country, or individual.

'Weathering Waves’ is on view till September 23 at Exhibit 320, Lado Sarai, from 10.30 am to 6.30 pm.