Yohan Medhanka is 21 years old. He is a self-taught artist who at his young age has a skill and intensity that is uncommon in artists with no formal education in fine art. In the few weeks since his paintings have collected in the Saskia Fernando Gallery, waiting to be displayed in his ‘Northern Dreams’ exhibition, they have captivated each person who looks upon them.
There is something incredibly real in the work of this young painter. His faces tell a story, while his technique merges oil painting with contemporary colours and concepts. Many artists have connected with the north in post-war Sri Lanka, often travelling there to mentor or to conduct workshops. For Medhanka, it just took one visit to captivate him. And after what seems to have been a three-year journey from painting to meditating and back, he has emerged with a powerful series of portraits that prove that young Sri Lankan contemporaries still have what it takes.