It is at an exhibition that I first got a glimpse of Namal Kumara’s paintings. I recall reminiscing Francis Bacon whose work disturbs you as though you had been to a morgue or a butcher’s shop. Namal’s paintings disturb but unlike Francis Bacon’s they would not allow you to take your eyes off them. They leave you unable to identify what you feel or should feel; in some sort of emotional crisis. They are beautifully and meticulously coloured. Yet the figures are fragmented, distorted and scattered all over the canvas. One would immediately sense torment and torture but would also see that it is not repulsive but alluring. It is this mystique that compelled me to speak to the artist, Namal Kumara.
He says he was always inclined to draw and paint but if he was to name one person who is responsible for how far he has come as an artist, that would be his A/L Art teacher Marlon Preethiraj who taught Art at the Gonagala Maha Vidyalaya in Galle. “If it isn’t for Marlon Sir I would not be here. Because of him I got to learn not just painting but sculpture, mural art, carving and so many other techniques while being in school.” Namal says “it is only when he entered the University of Visual and Performing Art that he got the opportunity to learn skills as well as the world view necessary to become a career artist. The academic strength he received had exposed him to master artists such as, Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Renato Guttuso, Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin among many others. This exploration of diverse techniques, styles, philosophies and ideologies had enabled him to understand the integral connection between technique and concept.”
“It was while I was still in the campus that I realized that the conceptual base for my art would be the human relationships that I was experiencing. I feel I am an extremely sensitive person who gets affected easily by how others behave. I was looking for a channel to let out my disappointments, frustrations and confusions. Art was my channel and I wanted to investigate the most suited technique to express what I was feeling.”
Namal had soon realized that more often than not human relationships were distorted or disturbed. So he had attempted to mirror that distortion figuratively. If he was angry, instead of lashing out or resorting to violence he would pour his negative energy on to the canvas via brush and paint. He would deconstruct the form into sharp, edgy geometrical pieces to indicate the intensity of his feelings. His figures would be with upwardly raised hands depicting his own responsibility and contribution to dismantled humanity.
‘I deconstructed the figure into small sharp pieces and experimented with colour so that I could spend more time to soothe my mind as if I was in some kind of meditative state. This exercise was purely for my benefit; for me to feel calm after a turbulent or chaotic experience.’ Namal’s explanation made me think of the tradition of Tibetan Mandala paintings where Tibetan Buddhist monks would take days to complete the meditative act of painting the mandalas which they would erase once completed.
Namal does not believe in restraining himself or limiting himself to one style and keeps changing as he goes along. His early work had consisted of the bull as a symbol of innocence as well as provocativeness. He explains that our mind is like the bull; innocent when calm but easily provoked by external occurrences. “I would burn the canvas and work with mixed media whenever I wanted to portray the intensity of emotions. The sharp geometrical forms were to show the way the mind would suffer damage just as the body would.; that it would shatter into pieces at times.”
Though his work is not realistic, Namal would carefully observe light and shadow. It is not the real shadow that he would add to his paintings but a faux shadow which symbolizes mistrust.
Although Namal initiates a painting with the primary colours he mixes and matches until a myriad of tones are achieved. This is a unique feature of his work and he thinks that it is this reason that his work does not end up being completely abstract.
Namal continues to engage in his art practice consistently and continuously believing that hard work would eventually gain him recognition. He also works as an art teacher in a school located in a tiny island village in the middle of the Madu Ganga where there is only a narrow bridge to connect the island to the mainland. ‘It is an island within an island. So you could imagine how restricted they are when it comes to knowing about the outside world. Children who come to this primary school are even more unexposed than those at the mainland. They are not aware of any art outside of a Vesak pandal. “I feel I could give them more than theoretical knowledge by introducing them to the life away from the island. When I work they learn by observing me. They realize that there is much more that could be learnt and explored.”
To end the interview I asked Namal what his future ambitions are. He is not hesitant in expressing that he aspires to be known as a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan artistic arena. I am quite certain that Namal Kumara would realize his dream by creating his unique and beguiling fragmented reality; a deconstructed mind constructed on canvas.