Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan has used art to express the suffering of people

Locating the Self

There is interdependency between the location and the ways in which one identifies and feels his/her own self. Self is a construction of its location; the location is an expanded reflection or projection of self. Therefore making the self is associated with how one positions his/her self in the locations of geography, history, and memory. This may be the reason that the Sangam period (before 3rd C AD) of Tamil literature speaks of human experience and _expression in relation with location and categorize them with five kinds of landscapes such as Mullai, Marutham, Neithal, Kurunchi and Paalai.

Through destruction, displacement and migration, the war destroyed, dismantled and. disturbed the layers of physical and psychological connections, which one cultivated with his/her immediate surrounding over the period of time. This situation forced the dislocated individual to live in a collage of time and space created by the fragmented memories, histories and realities of location and also question the notion of identity based on nationality, citizenship, geographical territory and collective memory.

In my recent works, my school days class room exercises on maps got new meaning and became the means of portraying the self. This also recreated fossils of forgotten memories of uprooted age old settlements through collaring, juxtaposing, superimposing and tailoring different kinds of maps and human anatomy. I am metaphorically and symbolically suggesting the nuances of experience of a dislocated self.

Peace scholar Shyamika Jayasundara having a closer look at the paintings

The art lovers say that the exhibition is timely

"It is a complete turnaround and once again we are trembling with fear looking at the shadows of war over the north and east" says Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan

'Entangled'- 2004 - 47X75cm, mixed media

Journalist and Photographer Rohan Canagasabey shares his views with Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan

An exhibition on dislocation and the self

By Rohan Canagasabey

Over the period of the two decades long civil war, dis-location has been one of its primary consequences, apart from of course death and destruction. Dislocation from ones home and its cultural and psychological consequences is the theme of an exhibition by Jaffna-based artist Thamotharampillai Shanaathanan, which opened on January 5 and still on display at the Galleries, Paradise Café, at Alfred House Road, Colombo 3.

Under the title of Locating The Self, 19 mixed media on paper creations are displayed by the artist, who is also a lecturer in art history at the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Jaffna.

The overwhelming first impression in the artworks is the common element of being set in a brown coloured landscape. However, the figures juxtaposed and collaged in many of these creations of Shanaathanan have deeper meanings. These are best described by the artist himself, who says;

"Through destruction, displacement and migration, the war destroyed, dismantled and disturbed the layers of physical and psychological connections, which one cultivated with his/her immediate surrounding over a period of time. This situation forced the dislocated individual to live in a collage of time and space created by the fragmented memories, histories and realities of location and also question the notion of identity based on nationality, citizenship, geographical territory and collective memory … I am metaphorically and symbolically suggesting the nuances of experience of a dislocated self."

For example, the image titled Dislocation 1 depicts the attempt to turn the fragments of new experiences into one and thus create a new identity, illustrated through the multiple hands of a human body gathering in collaged items depicting different locations and experiences.

Other creations such as Kanthari highlight that the individual identity is tied to his/her original location. Shanaathanan, who has had several prior exhibitions since 1994 as well as receiving a Kalasuri award from the previous president of Sri Lanka, is pointing out that even if the displaced returned to their original homes, the community could never be the same, as each individual would return with different experiences from different locations.

Essentially dislocation has permanently altered the individual and collective self. Food for thought as millions in Sri Lanka hope for continued peace, but a peace that unfortunately never got round to dealing with the dislocated. The exhibition at the Galleries is on until January 28 . - Courtesy of Morning Leader, January 11, 2006

There are ninteen paintings on display

He has lived in Jaffna during times of war and peace

He has presented the cherishing childhood memories of places he visited as a kid

He has used maps to show how some landmarks have disappeared due to war

Through destruction, displacement and migration, the war destroyed, dismantled and. disturbed the layers of physical and psychological connections, which one cultivated with his/her immediate surrounding over the period of time. This situation forced the dislocated individual to live in a collage of time and space created by the fragmented memories, histories and realities of location and also question the notion of identity based on nationality, citizenship, geographical territory and collective memory.

"It's very interesting" says Selvi Sachchithanandam

His family, affected by the war is among the thousands of other families

He has depicted the scars of war through his innovative works of art

He has drawn these paintings between the period of 2003 to 2005

This year's hope is permanent peace in Sri Lanka
"You cannot hang a building on a wall like a painting; you have to find a use for it." - Arthur P. Ziegler, Jr.