Iromie’s paintings at Dubai exhibition
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Award winning artist Iromie Wijewardena’s work was exhibited at the ‘Kolor Palette’ exhibition in Dubai earlier this month. Organised by Indian art gallery Aart Souqk 6, the event featured many Indian artists and Iromie was the only Sri Lankan artist selected to exhibit her work.
This is the latest achievement in a long line of accomplishments for Iromie, who has exhibited her work at many local and international exhibitions, been on the Painting and Sculpture Panel of the Arts Council of Sri Lanka, the Jury Panel of the 12th Asian Art Biennale Dhaka Bangladesh and examiner of Art and Design of the International Baccalaurate Organization, UK to name a few. Although honoured to have had the chance to exhibit her work once again in Dubai, Iromie was unable to attend the event due to a personal commitment. “Although I wasn’t there, my work was given good exposure,” she says. She is happy that one of her paintings was featured in the invitation printed for the event, along with the positive response which she has received after the event.
A painter whose figurative art focuses on the female form and depicts the various roles women play in society, she chose work which represented the ethnic diversity of Sri Lankan women for this exhibition, which is portrayed in one painting by their act of sharing water at a river. She felt that this theme was the most appropriate for the event. Having been unsure of the response in Dubai, she was surprised by the appreciation for her work.
Iromie Wijewardena: Urging more recognition for local artists. Pic by Priyantha Wickramaarachchi
Iromie feels that events such as this exhibition should see more artists taking part. “If they are known globally, they have bigger exposure,” she explains, adding that unfortunately not much care is taken in promoting the work of Sri Lankan artists. “I have experienced instances where they (the authorities) deliver the letters they have received about foreign exhibitions after the date of submissions had passed,” she says, adding that in such instances, opportunities have been wasted. She hopes that state patronage will be increased soon. “We can’t hope that they will do it in the future, they need to act now!” she insists, adding that another way they can help artists is by making laws tighter. Having seen some copy the work of many prominent artists including herself, she is appalled by the lack of legal protection given to artists. “We don’t have a proper Intellectual Property Act in Sri Lanka, which is sad because our work is our own unique creation which should be protected,” she remarks, adding that the lack of proper laws in this regard has allowed some to openly flaunt their copies of other famous Sri Lankan artists.
Although she feels that there can be improvement in terms of the opportunities and infrastructure available for artists, Iromie still feels that they can be successful if they work hard. “Don’t copy anyone, be exclusive and have your own style and keep painting,” she says, adding that constantly exhibiting one’s work is one of the best ways to get their work known.