It’s About Time We Think About History
Close your eyes and try to remember what your history lessons in school were like. Do you immediately think of the Mahawamsa, ancient ola leaf books and archaeological sites? What about old…
Memorialisation
Naming the Dead and Disappeared as an Act of Memorialisation
Naming the names of the dead is an important act of memorialisation; for those they leave behind, it is their names that contain their essence. Palestinians in Gaza are writing the names…
Meta-Real: Provoking Thought on Reconciliation, Healing and Change
Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s annual memorial exhibition to commemorate Black July is showing at the Saskia Fernando gallery. serves as a link between past and present, providing a reflective examination of Sri Lanka’s…
The Bitter Legacy of a Blood Stained Civil War
Thousands of people gathered in a hot, dusty field in Mullavaikkal in the Mullaitivu district to mark the end of the bloody civil war on May 19, 2009. The area was dotted…
Christmas During the Civil War
Coming from a Christian family, Christmas is one of the most important festivals for us. I was born in Navaly village in Jaffna to a wealthy Christian family. My grandparents celebrated Christmas…
Remembering the Dead
As a Catholic, I start November with All Souls Day remembering our departed loved ones; as a Tamil, November ends with remembering the Tamil militants who sacrificed their lives for a Tamil…
Jagath Weerasinghe: I Have No Art That Will Make You Comfortable
Between August 1989 and January 1990, 48 school children in Embilipitiya were abducted and murdered. Several of their bodies were found in a mass grave nearby. Some of the perpetrators, including military…
How to Remember and not to Remember July 1983
There is a quote attributed to Morgan Freeman, which basically states that the only way to stop racism is to stop talking about it. I am not sure where, when or why…
#ArchivesMatter and So Do Archivists
One of the few government officials who knows what she’s doing, Dr Nadeera Rupesinghe, remains a cut above the rest. Deeply committed to her work, she epitomises in every way the enormity…
War Never Ends
This anniversary marks a stage, a pause in the fighting, does not a lasting peace reflect( especially when celebrated as if one party won). But dictates of reason, and…
Remembrance and Reconciliation: One Can’t Happen Without the Other
“How are we supposed to heal when we can’t even remember our loved ones in peace?” asked Vinitha (name changed), a Tamil social worker who grew up during the most violent times…
Remains of the Day: 9.5.22
On this day, one year ago, I was alone in my studio working intensely on some paintings totally unaware of the chaos emerging and gathering momentum in my city, where government supporters…
Using Art to Uncover a Lost Society Destroyed by War
In his new collection of artwork, Suntharam Anojan depicts a visual account of the impact of the 30 year war that altered the topographies of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. Through the…
Jungle and the Sea: A Tale of Courage, Hope and Survival
Following the runaway success of his first play, Counting and Cracking, writer and director S. Shakthidharan has produced a new play called Jungle and the Sea, which has received enthusiastic reviews since…
Unfreezing the Grief: Coping with Ambiguous Loss
Are you a wife or a widow if your husband has been gone for years? Are you still a mother if your only child is missing? Do you speak of your brother…