The Agency Sri Lanka, a Sri Lankan modelling agency, will be celebrating its fifth anniversary this year and as a part of the celebrations, plans to launch a digital calendar for 2021, titled Dynasty. Employing a Sri Lankan historical theme, the calendar takes inspiration from epic tales in the istorical texts, Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa and Chulavamsa but with an Avant-garde twist in a modernised setting.
Each calendar photo is set to be released progressively alongside their corresponding month, also denoted by their traditional Sri Lankan names, on their website all throughout 2021. All this will be done with a focus on showcasing homegrown creativity, photography, talent, faces and artistry.
Intentions
In a brief interview, the project’s primary creative force, Creative Director, Wunderman Thompson Sri Lanka, Brandon Ingram, spoke to us about the intentions behind the concept. As he says , there were two primary purposes behind this piece. The first was to showcase the collaborative efforts that helped push The Agency through their first half decade; “the beginning of their creative Dynasty,” as he calls it.
Each image features elaborate sets and conceptual styling, using models from The Agency Sri Lanka’s portfolio and clothes from the island’s leading designers. Brandon conceptualised and was the creative force behind this entire project, which was photographed and materialised by Jonathan and Ryan Wijayaratne of You’re My Favourite.
Their collaborative efforts will be featured front and centre every month, with supplementary content accompanying each release detailing the behind the scenes of each shoot.
The CEO and Founder of The Agency Anjuli Flamer-Caldera, attributed this to be the reasoning behind not releasing it all at once, as it may be too much too soon, devaluing the massive undertaking of every individual shoot.
Aarambhaya
The other main purpose, according to Brandon, was to showcase the rich cultural history of Sri Lanka. “We often look to the West for inspiration on creativity,” he lamented, “but there is so much of rich culture and history to be inspired by right here at home.”
However, he was determined to try and bring a new, empowering perspective to it such as the first in the series, the photo for January (Duruthu), titled Aarambhaya or’The Beginning’, depicting a modernised Queen Kuveni as opposed to King Vijaya, who is usually the focus of anything pertaining to the beginning of Sri Lanka. Brandon spoke of how Sri Lankan culture did not start with him and Kuveni represented the history and culture that already existed in our country long before Vijaya’s arrival.
Ultimately, Brandon spoke of how, despite having worked with many brands and companies before, he was grateful to have had complete creative control of Dynasty, working alongside all the talent that helped make it what it is, every step of the way. Anjuli also made it a point to mention how this entire project was a showcase of the collaboration between The Agency Sri Lanka and all those who have worked with them for the past five years. “This shoot has been a collaboration with designers, who represent modern Sri Lankan fashion, a way to shed the spotlight on homegrown creators.”