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| Wednesday, 9 June 2004 |
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Burgher art: A refreshing tonic by J. B. Muller "Damn good show, men," was the consensus of the large gathering of Colombo's literati and glitterati on Thursday evening, May 27 at the Harold Pieris Gallery of the Lionel Wendt Theatre in Colombo's upmarket Cinnamon Gardens. It was more than a "damn good show". It was an astonishingly good show of almost 200 years of Burgher talent in the visual arts. A bemused Susan Blankhart, Royal Netherlands Ambassador, asked: "Why an exhibition on the Burgher Connection? And why is a Dutch ambassador asked to host the opening of such an exhibition? I cannot fully answer these questions now, but let me go back a little into the history of the Burgher Community and the history of Sri Lankan - Netherlands relations." Well, let a Burgher, a 'Dutch' Burgher, if you please, answer both those questions. "The Burgher Connection" was originally planned to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the Dutch arrival in 2002 but Murphy's Law has a way of intruding and upsetting the best-laid plans of mice and men. Therefore, however belatedly, the exhibition was presented two years late in 2004. As to her second question, from 1602 onwards when the Sri Lankan-Netherlands connection was established between Admiral Joris van Spilbergen and king Vimala Dharma Suriya of the Kande Uda Rata kingdom, the Dutch Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compaigne (VOC) recruited and brought every European ethnicity here as its servants. They also encouraged vrijburghers or free citizens to also come here and settle down usually in a host of service occupations that the venerable company had need of. Therefore, when the leaders of this Community saw the need to form the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon in 1908, they used the word 'Dutch' because the point of origin of the people who settled here was the Netherlands. It is through a Dutch funnel that people from Lithuania and the freezing marches of Scandinavia, the plains of Hungary, Bohemia, Italy, the Swiss Cantons, Danzig, the Frisian Islands, France, Luxembourg, Flanders, Walloonia, the Channel Islands, and even the British Isles and Eire, came here. When the British took over in 1796, 900 'Dutch' and 12 Portuguese families made Sri Lanka their adopted Motherland. Hence the strong and enduring connection with the Dutch Fatherland. Credit In her heart warming address in the presence of the Head of Delegation of the European Union and other distinguished invitees she went on to say: "The Dutch Burgher Community of Sri Lanka had eminent doctors, lawyers, judges, writers, historians, sociologists, archaeologists, administrators, teachers, professors, scientists and painters to its credit. "Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lakshman Kadirgamar had this to say when he hosted my predecessor at a private gathering: "In literally every walk of life in Sri Lanka the Dutch Burghers made an outstanding contribution. In doing so they showed that our national life could be enriched; that there is a contribution to be made by all citizens of our diverse society if only they look beyond the narrow constraints of ethnicity," quoted by Brohier in her article on the History of the Burgher Community of Sri Lanka. "The DBU is presenting an exhibition with 100 paintings by over 50 Burghers. It was planned in 2002 when we commemorated 400 year's of relations between the Netherlands and Sri Lanka but, fortunately, it was delayed thus enhancing the number of paintings presented here and we can now enjoy this large exhibition. As reported (and I quote J. B. Muller) "...this landmark exhibition, which in itself is a vigorous statement that the Burghers are not dead and certainly far from being buried..." "The names of the artists presented here have often a direct Dutch origin: Van Houten, Van Dort, Beling, Claessen, Anthonisz (so sorry to pronounce them here in a very Dutch way). With this Exhibition the Burgher Community proves itself as an important and colourful thread in the social fabric of Sri Lanka. She was welcomed at the entrance to the Gallery by Melville Kerkoven, the President of the DBU and presented with a posy of pink roses by Ms. Jacqui Anthonisz, a direct descendant of the Founder, R. L. Anthonisz and then conducted to the Gallery where she was welcomed by the executive committee members, the members of the Arts Council of the DBU and the members of the Organizing Committee of the Exhibition. Fraternity Melville Kerkoven welcomed her and invited her to light the traditional oil lamp in keeping with local custom. Maxi Roziro, president of The Burgher Association was also invited to light the lamp in a gesture of fraternity and friendship with a body that represents the rest of the diverse community of European origin and of mixed parentage. In his Vote of Thanks, Stephen LaBrooy, a member of both the DBU and the BA, thanked her for not only gracing this historic occasion with her presence but also for so kindly hosting it. He also thanked the Sri Lanka-Netherlands Association for arranging the funds to finance the Exhibition, the owners and some of the artists of the paintings, the management and staff of the DBU, the Burgher Association for their input, the media for the extensive coverage given and the Insurance Corporation for sponsorship in the form of insurance cover for this priceless collection. His special thanks were directed, and in his words, I quote: "I know he will be suitably embarrassed at the mention of his name-but I will do it anyway and that is Michael Anthonisz. To put together an exhibition of this size and scale - with over 130 paintings - covering a period of 200 years requires not only a vast knowledge and passion for the subject, which indeed, he has; it also requires skill, determination, patience, a massive sense of humour and an inordinate capacity for sheer hard work. I have had the privilege of working closely with Michael on this and can tell you that he has all these qualities - in spades. Thank you, Michael, you have - if I may use the colloquial - "done us proud." Leaderships After being relatively quiet for about 50 years the younger generation of Burghers are now reasserting themselves in various ways. This is partly due to the resurgent new leadership that the community has brought forth. Another factor is the re-emergence of English (their adopted mother tongue) and the new emphasis being placed on it by both the private and public sectors who now, more than ever, realize the value of this medium of international communication. As the Island's only natural English speakers there is a tremendous demand for Burghers throughout the economic infrastructure. This has infused new hope in the community. Another factor is that those who emigrated to 'greener pastures' overseas have belatedly realized that there is no place like home - and that 'home' is the alluringly, hypnotically beautiful Island of Sri Lanka their Motherland. Many of those who decided to stay love this country with an intense, burning, consuming passion that is reflected in their prose, poetry, drama, dance, song, music, designs, and... painting! This exhibition of just three days duration, has acted like a refreshing tonic to the many people who came to see and be astonished at the versatility of the members of this miniscule community and is, there's no gainsaying the fact, a tremendous morale booster to the Burghers. **** Back **** |
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