The pristine rainforests of Sri Lanka were destroyed by the British when they converted those into tea gardens and rubber estates. Today, the country has lost 70 per cent of the forest area, and as a result, wildlife has migrated to lowlands. “The small country is facing a big problem as pachyderms have come in close contact with the farming community, resulting in man-animal conflicts. Now we are trying to push them out, but we must realise that they have as much right to live as us. My mission and passion is to portray these issues through my paintings, the only medium I know,” says Sri Lankan painter Senaka Senanayake, who is in Bengaluru for his exhibition at the Gallery Sumukha, explaining the inspiration behind his work.
Believing in the power of bloom rather than gloom, he paints optimism using bright colours and beautiful imagery, truly reflecting the condition of rainforests across the world. The depiction of flora and fauna is natural and the only artistic licence the 65-year-old painter allows himself is to sometimes mix the plants and birds from different forests. The exhibition is open till August 25.
His collection of 15-16 artworks done in the last two years depicts beauty of rainforests—be it Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia or his native Sri Lanka. Over a period of four decades, Senanayake has come out with a series on Buddha, Lord Ganesha, Sri Lanka and endangered corals. Most of them have been oil on canvas, watercolours and mixed media. Being a Buddhist by religion, he believes ‘there is no beginning and there is no end and life goes on’, and this circle is encompassed in all his works. He uses circles to create rhythm and movement in his work.
Recollecting his tryst with rainforests, Senanayake says, “It was my cousin, an environmentalist based in Ecuador, who made me aware of issues and introduced me to a world I had never seen before. I have been focusing on rainforests since the last 15-20 years. I am no politician, but an artist and so I thought to do something with my brush. However, I did not want to highlight the destruction or the negative aspects. My paintings depict the positive aspects, the rich natural heritage of the forests, the bright hues and colours of the flora and fauna, creating happiness in the minds of the people.”
Senanayake is a devotee of Sri Satya Sai Baba. He got inspired by the spiritual leader’s teachings that changed his approach towards life. He recalls a discourse of Satya Sai at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, where the religious guru was talking about how happiness is always sandwiched between sadness and the power of positivity. “Satya Sai inspired me to move away from chaos, destruction and negativity. Although I never got an opportunity to speak to him, his communications through my wife Jennifer were a life-changing experience. At one point of my life, I had started working on erotic themes, but I stopped following the guru’s advice of not exploring the female figure in paintings,” he says.
Senanayake attended formal training in art at Yale University in the US. “The formal classes expanded my knowledge to the history of world art. It was an exciting period during 1968-72 enveloped by the hippy movement and woman’s liberation. The exposure, however, was great as it inculcated liberal thinking and I went on to paint and hold solo shows,” the painter says.
Senanayake demonstrated talent at a young age, and his first solo show came up when he was barely seven. It was a collection of paintings on life in Sri Lanka at the National Art Gallery, Colombo. Later, at 10, a US art dealer, impressed by Senanayake’s talent, organised a show at San Diego in California. There was no looking back for the painter who has done 120 solo shows across the world.
Although the painter has visited India before, this is his first show in Bengaluru. He says despite divisions, all the south Asian countries are one. His new set of works is a continuation of his crusade to make the public aware of the need to preserve endangered rainforests. He plans to do more shows focusing on the environmental crisis.
Senanayake’s message is clear—let’s save the rainforests, which is so necessary for the existence of this planet. “We have ruined the environment for our comfort and the present generation can change this. Global warming is a frightening thing, the southern portion of Sri Lanka till Antarctic is just a large expanse of ocean and with melting glaciers, huge tidal waves, half of our country may submerge one day. I hope people looking at the images of birds, animals and the unique flora are inspired to protect and conserve rainforests for posterity,” he says.
(The New Indian Express)
