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31st October 1999

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An artist of the paper world

By Chamintha Thilakarathna

Hidden behind the fish tanks of 'Min Medura' on Kotugodella Veediya in Kandy, forty-one-year-old Gamini Ananda was busy. In his popular aquarium, one discovers more than what meets the eye. What the curious visitor chances on is a hoard of beautiful 'Paper Tole' paintings.

It is not the art nor the elegance of the paintings that fascinates, but the painstaking efforts and the Imagemastery with which Gamini works. 'Paper Tole' is a form of art similar to 'Decoupage' but is more advanced due to the special tools, professional training and, most importantly the patience and money required.

"Paper Tole' gives a three dimensional outlook to an ordinary painting,' explains Gamini.

The designs or paintings to be made into three-dimensional pictures are imported from America along with the tools, paintings and the frames. The paintings come in sets of four or eight. Each copy is carefully outlined, cut and pasted, one on top of the other, in such a manner as to make sure that each object looks real.

"This is a very delicate craft. A single mistake in measurement or cut, means the entire picture would have to be put aside," Gamini said.

An unofficial fish doctor for thirteen years, Gamini says that 'Paper Tole' too is as satisfying and soothing a hobby as rearing fish. "I wake up at four in the morning to work on this before I come to the aquarium. I also work late at nights. It does not tire me, in fact the result is the exact opposite," he said.

"It is not an addiction, but rather it takes you to a world of your own. Starting my day with 'Paper Tole', helps me focus, for it is in many ways a meditation," he says.

In fact, it is meditation that lasts for weeks. A 16'20" picture takes at least two weeks to complete. A fairly small painting, with one object in the picture would take four hours (that is if you are a professional).

Gamini trains two others in this art at home. They have fifteen to twenty minutes to think about the painting and focus on the way they would approach it, before starting the work. "Commitment is the key. Anyone involved in this craft needs to be reminded of its value and its non-economic yet purely aesthetic aspect," Gamini said.

However, the public's lack of appreciation and the high cost of the tools have stood in the way of many 'Paper Tole' artists. The paper, "cotton fibre material" specially designed in America does not wrinkle and can be arranged in any form to last for years, but it costs thousands of rupees, he says. In addition, the frames are imported from Malaysia, Italy and so are the tools. The paintings need to be sealed tightly. hence the special frames. The gum and the paints are also difficult to find.

"We tried substituting with local material but it was a flop. So, we are left with no choice in the matter. Sometimes, I design my own frames to suit the pictures," Gamini said.

Yet, despite the difficulties, Gamini is committed to continuing his hobby.


Segar:

In constant transition

Artist Raja Segar made his entry into the world of art through a process of transition. He was at first an accountant in a prestigious mercantile firm. From the profession in which he dealt primarily with numerical figures, he effected a transition to the art of painting, where he focuses upon physical figures. His art could very well be described as being in perpetual transition.

His vision keeps on shifting from period to period. His portrayal of figures undergoes transition as he keeps on moving forward and upward in his creativity.

In his earliest works, his preoccupation was with a decorative, formalized cubism. Each segment in his early works was a niche to accommodate a stylized bit of his world.

These individual cubes did not merge into each other with a flawless fluidity. They could be seen put together with seams and stitches. The palette in these was aglow with a luminous brightness as if it emerged from a child's glittery dream. These creations mark a period of transition from greeting cards into formal expression.

As he matured, he tended to give prominence to human figures. These figures were not objectively or realistically portrayed. They were refracted forms, issued through the prism of his creative imagination.

His works assumed the status of the mixture of cubism and impressionism in the eighties and nineties. Figures of humans and animals receive a pre-eminence over and above stylized patterns and vaguely cubistic shapes.

What is intriguing about Segar's art is that he does not arrange his figures and abstracts around conventional themes. The viewer has to delve into the work to discern an artist's thematic urge.

In the late nineties a fresh transition seems to enliven his works. Human figures which symbolize a clear theme begin to occupy centre stage in his paintings.

Two works that could be quoted to uphold this viewpoint are the collage titled "Tea Plucker," (1997) and "The Cricket" a mixed media (1997.)

His 1997 water colour titled "The Dance", is virtually a realistic painting portrayed with interesting edges and corners, that accommodate linear, abstract patterns.

As an artist progresses in his creative maturity and philosophic development, what happens quite often is the discarding of the flotsam and the jetsam he hoarded in his early, immature phases. This can be seen in Segar's art too.

He has, in the course of his transition, freed himself from the bright dazzle of his early days. At first he had only surface purposes.

But, today, he is a serious painter - seeking and exploring reality with a view to delve deep into what exists beyond the familiar icons of life.

Though Raja Segar has arrived at a satisfying level of maturity, the present phase is only a plateau for him. He is still in transition. Raja Segar is, to all intents and purposes, an artist in perpetual transition.

-Edwin Ariyadasa

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