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Makingthedistant intimatehasbeenSenakaSenanayake’s
forte over the last many decades he has been painting.
Having grown up on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka he
was drawn to the wilderness and wild life even as a boy,
often travelling with his family to distant parts of the
island to see themagnificentanimalsandbirds thatmade
the depths of the woods their habitat. No wonder, then,
that creatures mighty and meek made their way to his
canvas from the time he first started painting.
Over the decades, it was especially the idea of the
rainforest that began to concern him more and more.
So much had changed since he first visited the forests,
so much was destroyed thanks to natural and man-
made causes and his worst fears about the impending
destruction of these forests were proven to be correct
when environmentalists concurred and agreed that
unless awareness was raisedurgently itwould soon bean
ecological disaster. The once verdant and lush rainforests
were slowly disappearing. If the country did not address
the crisis it would be too late. To create awareness and
educate theyoungergenerations,Senakabeganhis series
onthecountry’s rainforestsbutasyearspassed itbecame
his personal mission, his one magnificent obsession.
Looking at Senaka’s canvases, typically very vivid and
pure, you get the impression that you’re standing at the
edge of the tangled wilderness, with tall trees reaching
up to the skies. There is no mist anywhere, no haze
blurring the sharp contours of the plants, trees, flora and
fauna. Was the artist concerned about the geology or
even the precise topography of the region? Not really,
Senaka is quick to point out. The artistic perspective was
more focused on atmosphere, the virtual experience of
space. The abstracted shapes and forms in the depths
of the rainforest evoke memories of his boyhood, since
this was, after all, a space he had frequented and claimed
as his own ever since he first visited the woods. In his
painterly narrative, Senaka prefers a large format canvas,
painting his much-loved forestscapes from memory, the
branches of the ancient trees stand tall, their leaves and
twigs forming origami patterns in the infinite skies.
There is seemingly a constant interplay between canvas
and vista in his art and if you are at his studio, it is
fascinating to watch this unfold. The morning could
begin with a composition of butterflies but by the
noon, the arched wings would take on resplendent
hues and out of nowhere a grasshopper would make
an appearance, perched delicately on the leaf of a plant.
You step out into the garden and it is almost like you
are in one of Senaka’s paintings, surrounded by flowering
trees, birds and fishes. A marvellous surprise awaits you
when you step back into the studio, translucent light has
changed the scene and the artist is busy with a canopy of
leaves that weigh the branches down!
For a moment there is a silence in the painted garden.
Then, gradually, household noises filter in and Senaka is
surrounded by laughing grandchildren and on cue, as
BEYOND THE RAINFORESTS
“We don’t create the world. It’s God’s world, he made it. We
depict it, we try to understand it. And a longing like that doesn’t
disappear in one generation. Art is about correspondences—
making connections with the world and each other. It’s about love
in that sense. That is the origin of the erotic quality of art.”
DAVID HOCKNEY
Senanayake, circa1970