Rhapsody of rhythm, radiance and colour
Chaya - Exhibition of art photography:
At times the photographic artist
nudges the viewer into a state of surprised amusement. In the colour
study in which a blue lotus
juxtaposes with a human navel, the
photographic artist seems to have allowed himself a moment of creative
humour
Review by Edwin ARIYADASA
In his debut exhibition itself, art photographer Dr. Jeewaranga
Gunasekera provides unerring evidence of a budding genius in his chosen
field of creative expression.
His photographic studies both colour and monochrome - exert a
tremendous impact on the heart and mind of the viewer. These works
possess a liveliness, which arrests the attention of the spectators,
with a hypnotic grip.
The compelling power of his photographs stems quite clearly from the
deep empathy he is adept at establishing, with his selected subjects. He
is sensitive to the inner 'feel', not only of human beings, but even of
such inanimate objects as trees and structures. Along with his lens, he
focuses his total being too, upon the subject he concentrates on. This
explains the pulsating, breathing reality that his photographs so
vividly communicate.
The photographic effects are not at all the outcome of graphic
manipulation. He composes his photographs lyrically and not
mechanically. He does not transfer his creativity to sophisticated
machines which can produce works which are stunningly slick, but do not
have a 'soul' or 'life'.
The young doctor who has produced this series of photographic artwork
does not know, I am sure eminent photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson or
his preoccupation with the 'decisive moment'. But Jeewaranga too seems
to have remained patiently, until the 'decisive moment' presented itself
to work the shutter.
The quality of his photographic studies eloquently proclaims that he
waited for quite a while until he felt it was the right time to capture
the moment. In some instances, a given photograph seems to have resulted
from sustained observation, over a considerable period of time.
Jeewaranga's photos represent the synthesis of a series of
disciplines. He is a young doctor of medicine whose personality is a
composite of several contradictory strands. His mother possesses a
marked inclination towards music. The photographic artist has acquired a
Diploma in Vocal Music, from Bhathkande University, India.
While being highly familiar with the two streams of science and art,
he has acquired enrichment through his hobbies. The guitar, movies and
tennis, play a prominent role in his leisure hours. Over and above all
these he has travelled extensively. Globe-trotting took him to Nepal,
Bangladesh and New Zealand among other places. All these varieties of
forces and influences the converge on his photography. The sense of
rhythm implicit in his photographic studies and the poetic quality that
his work exudes, derive, without any doubt, from his musical training.
The capacity to probe a person or a place deeply is directly inspired by
his medical discipline.
As for his impressive subject matter they, in most instances, are
from the repertoire of sight and images, he has garnered in the course
of this travels.
What is noteworthy about his collection of photographs is that the
works he has put together for display are all unadorned slices of life.
The photos portray stark untreated reality. The 'drama' of his
photographs, issues by and large from the angle he has selected or the
detail he has chosen to dwell upon.
He has a special preference for the monochrome mode as opposed to
work in colour.
It is quite easy to appreciate this state of mind. At times, colour
may seem to transform a matter-of-fact, extremely ordinary subject, into
an unwarranted glamorousness. But on the other hand the monochrome
presentations tend to preserve the innate natural graphic quality, which
is the soul of a person or place.
Two studies he has made in the course of his sojourn in Nepal, are
cases in point, in this instance. One of those shows a fail, emaciated
old woman, squatting on the ground near her dilapidated shelter. The way
she covers her mouth with her left hand, is indicative of her depressed
state of mind. The work is in colour. Strangely enough, the colour
imparts an uncharacteristic glamour to this poor and faded woman
surrounded by the sordid and the squalid.
The other photograph depicts a yogi projecting his harsh life of
austerity. This monochrome study retains emphatically authentic
sternness inherent in his way of life as an ascetic. Seated among his
possessions, he seems to be in defiance of the worldly life he
encounters.
**********
What is monochrome?
Monochrome is widely used to feature painting, drawing, design, or
photograph in one color or shades of one colour. Monochromatic light is
light of a single wavelength, though in practice it can refer to light
of a narrow wavelength range. A monochromatic object or image is one
whose range of colors consists of shades of a single color or hue;
monochrome images in neutral colors are also known as grayscale or
black-and-white. Sometimes it means the same as black-and-white or, more
likely, grayscale, but may also be used to refer to other combinations
containing only tones of a single color, such as green-and-white or
green-and-black. It may also refer to sepia displaying tones from light
tan to dark brown or cyanotype images, and early photographic methods
such as Ambrotype, Tintype and Daguerreotype, each of which may be used
to produce a monochromatic image.
********** |
