Plus

Plus

Culprit knew where the key was
Ahangama police OIC Dickson Ranavaka who is heading the investigations said the culprits had entered and left through the main door and therefore it was obvious that it was someone who knew where the key was.

He said a suspect had been produced before courts and released on bail.

Pain after the paint
Act of vandalism raises questions over the Kataluwa temple project
By Vidushi Seneviratne

After months of hard work, the Kataluwa temple project to paint murals on the walls of the Giniwella Purana Viharaya in Ahangama by three Dutch artists, was almost complete. It was a unique and pioneering effort, a merging of two cultures and talents, with the Dutch artists, giving their time and expertise free. The Royal Netherlands Embassy provided material for the project which was estimated at Rs. three million.

Then came a shocking attack on April 15. Vandals defaced 85 of the 150 figures on the murals gouging out parts of the surface. The Kataluwa temple project was featured in an article in The Sunday Times of February 15, when more than 100 paintings and sketches of the murals of the Giniwella Viharaya, Kataluwa were exhibited at the Barefoot Gallery. Speaking to The Sunday Times at the time, Dutch artist Noella Roos, who has lived in Sri Lanka for the past five years, described the project as one of the most fulfilling experiences in her career.

Was it jealousy, politics or religious reasons that sparked off last week's act of vandalism? Whatever the motive, vandalism is unacceptable.But questions are being asked whether the attack was because the mural paintings were seen by some as not in conformity with the traditional Buddhist themes.

The artists themselves are shocked and horrified by the destruction. "Right now we can't think of what to do. Painting each figure took so much time," said Noella, commenting on the emotional effect the destruction had on the Dutch team and their Sri Lankan colleagues.

Noella’s father, Eddy Ross who came down from the Netherlands together with another artist Rachel Dieraets to work on the project, said, “We took on this project sincerely as a non-profit initiative and put our hearts and minds into it and what's happened now is sad."

"We were almost done and just adding the finishing touches, so it's really unfortunate that this happened now, after all the hard work," lamented Rachel Dieraets.

When the three Dutch artists offered to take on the task of painting the murals on the invitation of the Chief Incumbent of the Viharaya, there were lots of issues they had to consider given the religious nature of the site.They had to tread a fine line, when it came to the integration of the two cultures.

Built in 1825, the Giniwella Purana Viharaya is situated in Kataluwa, close to Ahangama. The temple is famous for its nine Veheras or pagodas – believed to be the only such Viharaya, in the country.

"When these foreign artists came and offered to do these paintings for us in 2002, I gave them my blessings," said the Chief Incumbent Ven. Meegoda Kalyanatissa Thera who has held this position since 1957. "As is visible, they have mixed the traditions and cultures of the West and our own, to create these paintings," added the 76-year-old Thera, explaining that apart from painting scenes depicting the bringing of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Bo sapling to Sri Lanka, the artists also painted everyday life using live performers and villagers as models.

The artists worked on the murals initially for three months in 2002 and resumed it in February this year. It was still in progress when the attack took place. The artists can think of no reason for this act of vandalism but cite three incidents that arouse suspicion. "On April 7, a robbery took place at the temple. A mobile phone, a calculator and a CD containing Eddy's works were stolen. These were inside the building where the murals are, and the robber broke the lock to get in. After the robbery, we fixed a more secure lock," Noella said.

Rachel added that there had been a trespasser in the building, the day before the attack. "He also had a knife. Since one of us saw his face clearly, he may have done this," she said. The other incident that had worried them was a misunderstanding between the artists and a man who had come to the temple on the day of the attack. "We were adding the finishing touches to the murals, when this man started hovering around me, even rubbing against my shoulder. On principle, we don't like it when anyone watches us while we paint, as it affects our concentration. He was under the influence of alcohol and when we asked him to leave, he refused. But later he apologised for his mistake,” Eddy said.

The artists feel that these incidents maybe remotely connected to the vandalism but that the culprit could very well be someone else. The vandalism apart, there is controversy over the paintings. Speaking to The Sunday Times a reputed temple painter from Ahangama, Walter Kulasooriya, who was first assigned the task said, "After discussions with the Thera, I had already prepared the entire surface of the wall and had even started painting scenes of the early life of Prince Siddhartha and I was surprised when I was told of the new arrangement. My paintings were erased and the new paintings were done over those."

Mr. Kulasooriya runs the Visike Art Gallery in Ahangama and has been the recipient of the Presidential award of the Ceylon Art Society for the past five years."The paintings are wonderful and carry a high artistic value. For this, I respect these artists' talent and work. But there is a time and a place for everything. Such paintings would have been ideal in an art gallery, but we must remember that this is a temple. It is an accepted fact that even the Sigiriya frescoes for instance, seem quite bold, but it wasn't a temple," Mr. Kulasooriya said.

But Kalasoori S.P Charles, a traditional artist and art master, said the paintings cannot be considered unsuitable. "Art changes with time, so a contemporary style such as this, is acceptable. If the Renaissance influence was too much in certain instances, they should have been corrected at the beginning. Destroying the paintings once they were complete, was wrong."

An art critic told The Sunday Times that when closely analysed, most of the figures in the paintings have a rather Western, if not Renaissance look and more consideration should have been given to the fundamental fact that these paintings were inside the Budhu Geya of an ancient vihara. While one scene depicts essentially Renaissance figures in flight, over the head of Princess Hemamala who is seen bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic, another depicts Sanghamitta Theri carrying the Sacred Bo Sapling in her left hand, which is not in line with Buddhist cultural norms, he said.

A villager who did not want to be named said, "I don't see the relationship between most of the depictions and Buddhism, as a whole. For instance, according to our understanding, there is absolutely no connection between scantily dressed, young girls, completely exposed figures in mid-air and musicians playing non-Sri Lankan instruments and the two most important events of Buddhist culture. It seems like not much research has been done before the painting of these murals."

The project also used dancers and musicians who performed around the artists as they worked, low-country dancers from Ahangama, Kandyan dancers, musicians and residents of the village as models. But though it was first stated that the people used as models for the paintings were from the village there is speculation that they were brought in from other areas, and this offended the villagers.

Asked whether there was any sort of disapproval shown by the villagers towards the paintings, Noella said that there was no such open displeasure . "We, together with the head priest, had lots of contact with the villagers and we didn't notice any displeasure. But of course, most of the dialogue took place in Sinhalese, so we didn't fully understand the context of the conversation, but according to our understanding, there was no obvious disapproval."

According to the artists, most of the villagers used as models for the murals were from Galle, Matara and Ahangama, with a few from Kataluwa itself. However, one of the local artists added that though there were a number of villagers showing their support for the project and working with them, the contribution from the villagers decreased with time. The artists are still undecided whether to restore the paintings. "We will not be thinking of any restoration right now. The environment is not right," Noella said.

Back to Plus