01What was the influential moment in your life that made you decide to become an artist?

I was born in 1982 in a small village named, Pankudavely located in Batticaloa.

In the early days of my childhood, I and my friends used to be happy drawing on sand of home frontage. On those days, an old mother living near my home was saving a book of paintings in the bottom pot of pot pile. The paintings were drawn by her teacher son who was sick and live out of the village.

I was often offered with opportunities through her grand children to explore the book and I also used to seek for the opportunities to explore the book. It was his ninth book beautifully bound.

By the cause of the above, I started to collect paintings myself drawn when learning in grade 05 intending that binding paintings of those who are able to draw paintings into a book is a methodology. My father too was helpful to me and I used to be pleasant to displaying them to relatives and friends. When even they introduced me to others, they said that he is my sister’s son or brother’s proudly and he draws paintings well. Thus, I was introduced as a painter.

I liked much to be recognized as a painting artist. 

When I was learning in advanced level at St Michael College Batticaloa in 2001, my 160  selected paintings were displayed as solo painting exhibition.

A mass number of visitors explored and blessed me and essays on this exhibition were published in news papers and news on televisions. This exhibition triggered flow of happiness inside me. I used to intend daily to draw a lot like the great artist Picasso and often display to the public.

In 2000. At the time, all these names of foremost artists Eswararajah, Kularaj, Kamala vasuki and Kikko were recognized on air in Batticaloa. These names were naturally pronounced among the conservators of paintings. This caused a desire on me to feel of my name to be added one day in the list of these foremost artists. I started to go about home to home of every artist and won the friendship of the artist, Kamala Vasuki, Sivagnanam Jeyashangar.

Vasuki is an artist and Jeyashangar dramatist and on their walls hanged paintings. Sir, Jeyashangar used to give me great books of paintings every time to explore. I learnt more in there and absorbed knowledge of which paintings I should draw and which paintings not. Just the friendship with these artists induced to join the “third eye” Local Knowledge Skills and activist group and take forward painting activism. 

In 2003. The painting exhibitions and painting training camping jointly held by Thirththa and Bibhavi made me seek for much on contemporary painting trends. The personalities, Chanthira Guptha Thenuwara, Jagath Weerasinghe, and Anoli Perera are the ones to be remembered among those who conducted the training camping.

In 2004. When I had gone to Jaffna for learning more, I could enjoy meeting all the Jaffna artists. My friendship with Thamotharampillai Sanaathanan is significant. His home was just my study center and I learnt more there. I learnt of the deepest state of sensibility which outlets when creating paintings than the happiness which outlets when recognizing as an artist.

The relationship between me and colours and the painting surface and theme and the world I watch through it make me refresh, refine myself and get rid of tensions.

If I feel of the days I did not draw paintings and think of paintings on as the lost and meaningless days, I has been drawing on.     

02 

In a snap shot tell us what you have done and the reactions to the work. What are the thinking processes behind the work?

AMMA Series 2004----2006

The paintings of feminism drawn by Kamala vasuki, Arunthathi and vaitheki encouraged me too at first to draw paintings in perception of feminism. The paintings were created on the mothers who bereaved their children at war, the strength of the mothers who grow their children amidst war, the issues faced in living among our society having lost husband, the flexibility in male’s remarriage and absence of the flexibility to women.

Dust Series 2007-2008

When I was in Jaffna in 2006, the terrible war started again. The A9 highway was closed. Kidnapping and lost of lives were normally going on and long curfew was on. Crows beak flesh pieces of bodies and dead bodies can be seen on roads day by day. A 100 m long quae will be for 1kg of rice. Fear of death was filled in all body. Terrible and horrible experiences like these were as the themes of my paintings “Dust Series”.

Dried Fish Series 2009- 2010.

Human lives lost values and dead bodies were normal. No one thinks about the dries fish hanging on shops that they too would have lived with their little ones. The dried fish were inanimate and we were once upon created equally to it. My painting Dried Fish Series was created towards this theme.

03

What materials do you use and why?

Colonial Education system educates us oil colour as a very best medium. I used oil colour in AMMA painting series without any advantage or disadvantage opinion on oil colour. Running through of colour intermingling with each other causing texture created spaces beyond imagination.  

Dust Painting Series 2007- 2008.

In 2006, situation arose in Jaffna where we were unable to buy not only food items but oil colour either. It caused a big question to me “can’t I draw paintings without oil colour?” The very horrible experiences of fear caused inside me on those days were laying down inside me as impressions of earth colour paintings.

I felt of some relation between the painting impressions and the impressions caused jointly by the grave, snake hole, cemetery and the open space seen far in my village. Oil colour did not seem probable to create painting composing both experiences and I had no oil colour either. Thereby, I used clay, gravel, and sack coal, ash and tea dye in my paintings.

Dried Fish painting series 2009-2010.

It should look like specifically formless dried fish hanging on shops. This will further strength the title, give many new experiences and be as evidence of all the dead bodies. In this case, this painting was created by pasting the printed pictures of dried fish in thick and rough papers and then by soaring them in tea dye.  

04 

An author or another artist or a historic moment that has provoked or inspired you?

In 1999

Kamala vasuki was invited to preside at a painting exhibition. I was one of the disciples gathered in there. Kamala vasuki was introduced as one of the foremost contemporary modern artists and everyone was stepping after her. This made me feel of her as a great personality standing in there vested with noble honour. I started to like the life of being an artist much.

Even if I could meet many artists in the painting work shop held by Theertha International Artists Collective and Bibhavi Academy of Fine Arts, I was very impressed by Chanthira Guptha Thenuwara’s appearance, his teaching method and baralism Series. I very liked to learn to him by his natural behavior to humans.

When I was learning at the Jaffna national College of Education, I went up to Thamotharampillai sanaathanan’s home whenever I was able to go out. He spent his many hours for me. I could have been the first person to explore his new paintings. All his hard work, knowledge, his home atmosphere and living style influenced much on me.

The teacher who taught me in teaching methodology is Bubsy mariyathasan at College is the one who serves with the most interest on my painting progress and in displaying my paintings. She is a very yeoman teacher I ever had met.

05

What’s your goal long term? And how would you interpret the theme ‘Becoming’

Following Dried Fish series, I have been taking forward my painting activities and explorations in the theme ‘White Washe”. This is against globalization, making our life styles which should be followed protected as show case things and on our life styles after war.

We are attempting to grow ideologue of feminism, ideologue against globalization and thoughts on Local knowledge through painting activism by continuously taking forward. The paintings exhibitions being held by the Third eye Local Knowledge Skills and activist group  with the joint support of friends, elaborating and socializing the paintings of knowledge and happiness by intermingling among the variety of people.There is a great necessity to take forward these activities onward.    

nirmalavasans@yahoo.com

No.03, K.P.Nagar, Chenkalady, Batticaloa.

Phone No. 0775151041

Born: 1982