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