People’s protests give new meaning to Fearless Collective’s Colombo murals
‘I was represented’: One of the completed murals. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Colombo has become home to two new towering street-side murals, at the Rio Cinema and the Salvation Army Territorial Headquarters, depicting under-represented women of the community.
The work of The Fearless Collective, a movement founded in India by artist and activist Shilo Shiv Suleman, artists from nations across South East Asia collaborated to bring these colourful murals to life. “It’s quite historic that artists from India, artists from Pakistan, artists from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are coming together to paint women of Sri Lanka and all led by women and completed by women – we don’t see this much solidarity in South Asia,” says Gargi Chandola, a participating artist from India. “We’re hoping that the women who look like the ones painted will walk by and say ‘oh I was represented’ not as an actor, not as a politician but just as a common woman who has this quiet inner strength in her.”
Art in progress: Painting on scaffolding
The Fearless Collective began work on the murals on March 31 following an in-depth workshop with local women to discuss how they would like to be represented.”It’s been amazing,” says Gayatri Ganju of the Collective. “The whole time the community has gotten involved, they’re sitting with us all day through the heat, letting us come into their homes to rest and painting with us.” Impacting their tight schedule were regular power cuts, curfew and the ongoing people’s protests, some of which have passed right by the murals as the artists worked above on scaffolding.
Prompted by the protests, the Collective also took the initiative to create posters based on the current situation in the Country. “It is exactly the kind of moment that ‘Fearless’ exists for,” says Founder, Shilo Shiv Suleman, “we’re not just here to make beautiful images we’re here to respond to ongoing crises not only in Sri Lanka but across the world – it’s been really interesting to be here during this time and think about what the role of art is in resistance movements in general.”
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