Theertha Performing Art Platform 2022 A determined comeback

Smell-A collective cry against the hopelessness and despair that has become the hallmark of daily life in unstable Sri Lanka

• The arts are struggling to survive in a hostile world. Things are particularly bad for Lankan artists in this country’s own troubled context. Therefore, it was heartwarming to see such a tremendous effort by this group of artists many of whom are struggling to survive

The Performance Art Platform, hosted by the Theertha Art Circle got underway again after a break of three years due to the pandemic.

Though artists are among the hardest hit by the pandemic, followed by the current economic collapse, this year’s platform titled Smell was an impressive, collective cry against the hopelessness and despair that has become the hallmark of daily life in economically ruined and politically unstable Sri Lanka.

Theertha Art Circle is formed by a small group of artists seeking to promote modern art in its various manifestations in a culturally conservative country. Also known as Red Dot, it is multi-ethnic, polycultural and multi-lingual. As always,  

a number of foreign artists took part in this year’s platform, performing on their own or in collaborations and team efforts with Lankan artists. 

These foreign performing artistes came from countries as far-flung as the United States, Ukraine, China, Germany and India.

Among the Lankan artists were familiar names such as Janani Cooray, Godwyn Constantine, Kajendran Sivasubramanium, Omali Radhika, Chaya Kotalawala, Bandu Manamperi and a host of newcomers. 
Janani Cooray, in a scathing criticism of our dominant patriotism-based political culture, immersed in religious iconography, performed together with American, Chinese and Ukrainian artists as well as students from the Ogha Collective, while Bandu Manamperi’s highly complex and orchestrated performance using irons and electric lights was a many-layered statement on humankind’s dependency on technology and how it is used to enhance sexuality, all the while the technology takes as much as it gives, perhaps more.

The arts are struggling to survive in a hostile world. Things are particularly bad for Lankan artists in this country’s own troubled context. Therefore, it was heartwarming to see such a tremendous effort by this group of artists many of whom are struggling to survive. 

It’s a tribute to human resilience and the will to create under very difficult circumstances.