Hemantha brings forth untold poem in the sky
Ruwini Jayawardana
|
UNTOLD BEAUTY OF THE SKY: An image taken at 9.30 a.m. in Kandy.
|
PHOTOGRAPHY: We all like to engage in something new and
unusual to make our mark in society. New creations breed different ideas
and skills. Not only does it enhance inborn talent but it also inspires
its viewers, directing them towards a new way of thinking.
Hemantha Arunasiri is one such individual who falls into this
category. He will be holding an exhibition of photography at the Lionel
Wendt Gallery from June 22 to 24.
Titled ‘The sky - a poem’, there will be a large collection of images
of the sky at dawn, noon, eve, dusk, on cloudy days, in clear weather,
in gloom and in the rain. These photographs will be exhibited in a
manner which reflects the colour change from day time to night (around 5
a.m. to 10.30 p.m.).
The event is organised by the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts and Hector
Peries, president of the Society of Contemporary Arts and Crafts, will
be chief guest at the opening ceremony. Why did you choose such an
unusual subject?
“The idea of it being an unusual subject itself captivated me. Many
people do not base their photographs on such themes. Their inspirations
derive from either human activities or natural landscapes.
These are objects which capture the eye directly but I was inspired
to look at objects from a different angle. If you observe the sky
carefully there are many things to learn. For instance, clouds differ
according to the climate and geography.
I have travelled to about 12 areas in the island like Colombo, Kandy,
Nuwara Eliya, Walimada, Bandarawela, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa,
Hambantota and Udawalawe to take these photographs,” Arunasiri replied.
Hemantha had captured many varieties of clouds on his lens: strands,
flat, thick and in groups.
According to him the clouds take different shapes, travel with
different speed and rhythms. At times the distance between two clouds
may be a few feet but sometimes they may be many kilo meters apart. The
colour reflections change according to this distance. That is why there
are many poetic values threaded with the clouds in the sky.
|
EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Hemantha Arunasiri
|
“These are actually photographic paintings. We see the sky as a flat
surface that is far from the truth. Normally we photographers capture
spectrums of visuals in 360 degrees. I moved away from this method and
tilted my lens upwards towards a slightly higher angle,” he explained.
‘The sky - a poem’ is Hemantha’s second solo exhibition. His first
exhibition was held three years ago based on the subject of tree bark.
“I was able to focus my camera close to the tree. Therefore my lens
was about eight square inches apart from the object. Then I blew up the
image to about 400 percent of its original size. I was able to reveal
certain aspects which were invisible to the naked eye,” he said adding
that in the current exhibition his focus is on objects far away from
him.
This exceptional photographer was educated at Dharmaraja College,
Kandy. He said that the natural environment of his school and home town
set the foundation to his photographic career.
“I learnt photography under the Up Country Photographic Society,
guided by D.G. Ranatunga, Vijitha Wickramaratne and Susantha Kandadarage.
Then I became a student of Lal Hegoda at the Hegoda School of
Photography in Colombo.
Sarath Perera trained me in art photography. My main theme is colour,
form and texture. I will be continuing this theme under a different
subject in the future,’ he concluded. |
