ECCE HOMO | CHANDRAGUPTHA THENUWARA (duplicate)

The moment we live in is dire. It is a moment that has propelled citizens to fearlessly come forward to fight for sustainable and transformative solutions to systemic socio-political ills that have been lingering for decades without answers. It is a moment to cry out to rulers, not to protect the interests of political parties, but to free citizens from political chaos and allow them to live everyday personal life without hunger, without poverty, safely, securely and with dignity. A word that is often repeated is ‘democracy’ (by politicians?). What happened to Sri Lankans with that loud and solemnly pronounced word? We have to think carefully about it. Taking power by promising to fill the bellies of people has continued. Politicians secure power by promising to save the country, nation and religion. All this is done in the name of democracy.Sri Lanka, a country that obtained the power to elect representatives by universal suffrage in 1931, does not hesitate to boast about it. But what happens again and again? Political parties and groups use all their power and manipulation to get the majority of voters. Money is scattered; they use thuggery; emotions are triggered. The politicians and political interests that infiltrate the media add to the job of brainwashing.

Something similar is still happening in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's politics changed because of the Easter Sunday bombings. When yet another ethnic group, the Muslims, were made the enemy by propagating myth via the media such as illusions about pills that made Sinhala women sterile or surgeries that made them infertile. The electorate was urged to vote to save the 'Sinhala nation', a 'majority'  was deceived and voted. Likewise, many were deceived when they were told to save the 'Sinhala Buddhists' by claiming that Buddhist shrines were being attacked and destroyed. How do we behave as a society? Even if the finger is pointed at the politician, the civil servant escapes and may safely hide. Fraudulent businessmen are allowed to cheat people and cases before courts are dragged on and people don’t criticize them for fear of the the curse of contempt of court. Those who are tied to power know how to escape from courts and lawsuits and find ways to escape from the law. Every person in modern society lives in a media space. Is that media space truly free and independent? How should the media, that is supposed to provide entertainment, knowledge, and reliable information to the community, behave? Aren't they also digesting crap and forcing themselves into the human democratic space? How do we say that this kind of 'majority' will transform the distorted social space into a better environment? The main question is, what is democracy and is it a will of the majority?

The small triptych is a three-part visual reflection on arson attacked, both recent and in the past. On the 31 May 1981 at Midnight and early morning the next day, 1 June 1981, one of the most significant losses to Sri Lanka occured when the organized torching of the Jaffna Library too place. This loss can never be repaired. It was a barbaric act by the regime in power. There were two recent arson attacks, the first one took place on 9 May 2022, at Gotagogama in broad daylight by thugs attached to the Rajapaksa regime, and later, it continued with the burning of politicians properties by unknown elements. At Gotagogama, the Ad-hoc library and activists' artworks were burnt down. Fascists and uncivilized, uncultured non-humans practiced burning books and artworks. The continuation of these arson attacks took plave on 9 July 2022 with the burning of the private residence of the thenPrime Minister. It was not just a property. There were important books and artworks collected over a lifetime in this home. I immediately completed this triptych following this final attack.