After Aphantasias

Anoli Perera | Chandraguptha Thenuwara | Jagath Weerasinghe | Kingsley Gunatillake | Muhanned Cader | Pala Pothupitiye

‘After Aphantasias’ explores the profound and lasting impact of over-lapping conflicts and the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka, through the work of six influential artists active since the 1990s:  Muhanned Cader, Kingsley Gunatillake, Anoli Perera, Pala Pothupitiye, Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Jagath Weerasinghe. 

The title, After Aphantasias references a collective societal ‘mind-blindness’ – when Sri Lankans struggled to bear witness, unable to fully comprehend the violent changes of a tumultuous period in the country’s history or visualise the shifting realities of their political, territorial and emotional identities.  In response to this paralysis of vision, the artists featured in this exhibition, helped create a visual language that gave voice and form to the lived experience of war and violence, unseen or deliberately obscured by the dominant narratives of power. Their work disrupted conventional representations; explored marginalised subjectivities; fostered a critical dialogue by questioning authoritative claims and unjust truths; and aimed to decolonise the mind through reclaimed narratives. 

This exhibition explores the afterlives of their pathfinding early work. The artists confront the societal aphantasia that still lingers, as they continue to wrestle with labyrinthian conflict histories and the persistent impact of entrenched violence. The exhibited works reference two registers: landscapes of terror and dominant histories as sites of trauma. They are anguished images that confront not only what is visible, but also what is absent and silenced. They delve into historical traumas, to document, to grieve, to find comfort and to seek justice. They grapple with the potential of an ambiguous future: One burdened with the unsteady foundations of unresolved conflicts and of living without closure. 

The exhibition presents diverse approaches to these complex themes. Jagath Weerasinghe’s figurative works directly respond to the social and political violence of Sri Lanka’s conflicts, urging the viewers to look beyond simplified narratives and recognise the politics of nationalism. Kingsley Gunatillake’s sculpture and calligraphy-inspired work, explores the complex relationship between violence as a tool and the elusive peace it seeks to achieve. Pala Pothupitiye’s historical approach challenges the viewer, provoking a new ‘social consciousness’ to problematise power, capital and vested interest in the aftermath of war. Muhanned Cader’s visualscapes depict the land, sea and sky as silent witnesses to the violence inflicted upon them as victims, and not, simply, as landscapes of war. Anoli Perera interrogates the complexities of gender as it intersects with violence, memory and loss through a labour-intensive process of transforming raw materials, exposing the patriarchal structures of violence that marginalises women’s specific traumas and experiences. Finally, Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s work compels the viewer to shed their blindness and confront the ‘every day’, to question power and to seek truth, justice and accountability.

acknowledge the underlying contestations and

After Aphantasias invites the viewer to acknowledge the underlying contestations and the complicated legacies of representation. By confronting collective amnesias and selective consciousness that can be exploited in the service of agendas of power, the exhibition centres the importance of counter-narratives in the pursuit of reconciliation, accountability, justice and a more truthful retelling of Sri Lanka’s recent past. Ultimately, it is also a celebration of the enduring spirit of a generation of artists who redefined Sri Lankan art. Their dedication to breaking the mould to create a discursive public space through their art, continues to inspire new generations of artists to build their own movements and create their own narratives. 

-Text by Radhika Hettiarachchi

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