An exhibition of emotions

By Cheranka Mendis

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” That is the first quote that comes to mind when you see the paintings of the mother- daughter duo ready to showcase their unique collection of art tomorrow.

Titled ‘Saakshi,’ the exhibition aims at creating awareness on violence against women, a cause that both Sindhu De Livera and her mother Marini De Livera feel greatly about.

Each painting is different; each speaks of a story on its own. Colours are splattered across one another – light and dark playing a game of tag across the smooth surface to finally merge into that distinctive picture that seems to shout out a million thoughts all at once.

On another light, black seems to have swept across the surface, furiously painting the pain and hurt on a victimised woman. The paintings are beyond unique; they showcase raw emotions related to the subject. It shows the reality of the world we live in, in a graphical, emotional and a material way; it shows life.

Speaking to the Weekend FT, Sindhu De Livera stated that most of the paintings, numbering about 20, were inspired by real life cases and experiences. “The emotions in the paintings are an expression of the frustration we felt; some are raw and graphic,” Sindhu acknowledged.

“I inherited my artistic streak from my mother (Marini De Livera), who has been painting since childhood. When my mother, who is a Senior Law Lecturer by profession, painted or did any artwork, she would involve me as well. We are both activists for various causes, especially Violence Against Women.”

The main objective of the exhibition is to create awareness, she said pointing out that the exhibition coincides with the United Nation’s 16 days of activism against Gender Violence campaign.

When asked on Violence Against Women (VAW) as a theme, Sindhu is very animated:  “Everybody thinks that we do not have VAW on a large scale in Sri Lanka. The deniers of VAW keep comparing Sri Lanka to the most extreme countries and harp on about how we had the first woman Prime Minister in the world and how we had a female President, and insist that everything is fine. It’s not,” she pointed out.

The prevailing belief is that VAW has to be physical, and if it is not physical it is not serious.

“The truth is that non-physical forms of violence are just as serious and can be just as damaging. Women can’t walk on the road without people passing comments. Even in professional and educational spheres you find men, and even women, making sexist comments and trying to enforce sexist ideas and stereotypes.”

One has got to agree with that. You can be covered up head to toe and men would still leer at you, pass comments and then walk away smiling gleefully as if what they did was a random act of kindness.

Sharing the exasperation, Sindhu and her mother decided to express the frustration through art and create awareness at the same time by making it a public event.

On a different note, the two are activists for other causes as well. “My mother and I are passionate about justice for the underprivileged. Especially in our post-conflict situation there are people who have suffered due to the war- lost family members and all their possessions. She looks for jobs for them and teaches them English.”

Recently they took a trip down to Mullaitivu to distribute toys and stationery they had collected from well-wishers in Colombo to schoolchildren there.

“For me, in addition to women’s rights, I feel just as strongly for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) movement and animal rights. I haven’t been able to be as active in these causes but if I see or hear an injustice being done, I will not be quiet,” Sindhu added.

Most of these paintings, numbering about 20, are inspired by real life cases and experiences, she said.  “My mother took her law students to see a case at a high court where a woman had been set on fire by her husband and he was found guilty but he was only given a slap on the wrist, figuratively. Also one of my friends told me of an incident where a man on a bus had exposed himself to her; she had been alone and in school uniform.”

On the paintings, she stated that the usual scenario is that when they paint or draw it is on scraps of paper or if it’s a painting it’s more free-style. Since there was a specific theme, the paintings and drawings were created to stay within the purview.

Sindhu is currently studying for her BA from the University of Colombo and LLB from the University of London while her mother Marini is a Senior Lecturer at APIIT/Staffordshire University.

The exhibition ‘Saakshi’ will be held on 27 November at the Barefoot Gallery from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.