EYES ONLY | GAYAN PRAGEETH: Gayan Prageeth

3 February - 3 March 2021

Gayan Prageeth is an artist whose work reflects a deep concern for the state of society and politics in Sri Lanka. His exhibitions are acclaimed for paintings and installations that delve into the psyche of the country. Eyes Only looks at the developments of post-war regeneration in the context of political corruption, enforced disappearances and ethnic conflict. These reflections are presented in an intricate surrealism where, for example, notions of growth and destruction are juxtaposed in dismantled landscapes. Such scenes, recurrent in the exhibition, emphasize the reality of the Anthropocene: the current geological epoch shaped by humankind. While such consequences occur on a global scale, they often begin locally. Gayan’s critiqued subjects include nationalism, militarization, terrorism, beautification, climate change and spirituality in a cohesive discourse.
- Gayan Prageeth
  Bitter Kitchen III, 2021
  Japanese Ink and Acrylic on Rice Paper on Bowl
  36cm x 36cm x 3cm
Artworks
The Lotus Cultivation Of The Great Other
The Lotus Cultivation Of The Great Other, 2021
It is difficult to speak about Sri Lanka without bringing up its natural qualities. Gayan, in turn, explores the violation of the island’s sacred nature. While he remarks that everyone has a responsibility towards society, it rings particularly true for ideas placed in the public realm. A rapid redevelopment policy, known as ‘beautification’, currentlyruns rampant. The artist interrogates this policy of nationalism and supposed development via a series of surreal and dream-like paintings. It is the aftermath depicted in these paintings that is brought into question: to what end? What is the cost of replacing real, diverse beauty with superficiality? The proud, floating head of a lion and a bathtub housing a lotus pond are some of the objects that remain in bleak and devastated landscapes. It is as if the only thing that deserves to remain in a human-engineered climate apocalypse is the indomitable spirit of mankind. However, there is a sliver of hope, although somewhat independent of humanity, in this investigation. In an ethereal painting of a singular lotus stem, there are seeds that are replications of planet Earth. This idea gives hope to the possibility that newer and better worlds may be borne out of the destruction of another. It brings to mind the classical and proverbial Buddhist statement that if there is no mud present, there can be no lotus.

Acrylic and Japanese Ink on Rice Paper on Canvas

110 x 85 cm
43 1/4 x 33 1/2 in
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He investigates its implications on a wider scale in the installation Misplaced I, where a number of glass bottles are positioned with portraits of missing people inside them. This refers to the Thovil ritual in which priests trap evil spirits inside bottles and are purged from households by being thrown out. The installation implies a systematic operation where individuals disruptive to a governing system are disposed of in a ritualistic and regular manner. The showcase title refers to Sri Lanka’s political corruption and its penchant for making people permanently disappear. It primarily makes reference to the secretive information that decides what happens in the country. Access to such information is privileged to those who, despite their civil obligations, remain, like Gayan’s lattice-work, decidedly opaque.

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- Gayan Prageeth, Misplaced I, 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, Misplaced II, 2021
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Artworks
Gayan Prageeth
Fifth Dream, 2021
Acrylic on Canvas
120 x 140 cm
47 1/4 x 55 1/8 in
While Eyes Only makes no explicit reference to the ongoing pandemic, Gayan’s critique reveals its impact on society. In the installation PRISONERS ARE HUMAN BEINGS, he refers to recent prison riots that resulted in the deaths of numerous prisoners. The sculptural artwork is a presentation with English letters and words filled with charcoal and bullet shells. It is aimed at exploring the fact that prisoners are amongst the most vulnerable people in society. They are often the product of failed systems that fall short of justice and equality, and that tend to criminalize poverty. In the context of the pandemic, this installation opens up the question of who should be among the first to receive the vaccine. The vulnerability, both physical and mental, of prisoners living in cramped conditions needs to be accounted for. The answer, universally, remains to be seen. If it takes critical exhibitions like Eyes Only to make such discussions more public, one can only hope to see more of them.

Perspex with Coal and Bullet Shells

65cm x 79cm

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- Gayan Prageeth, Not You I Will Always I, 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, Not You I Will Always II, 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, Not You I Will Always I, 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, Not You I Will Always II, 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, A Story Behind The Senses I , 2021
- Gayan Prageeth, A Story Behind The Senses II, 2021
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Access the full catalogue of Eyes Only by Gayan Prageeth here