CANCERFUND-GALLE Art Giving Life to CANCER

The human body is an absolute marvel that we do not appreciate enough when we are healthy and perhaps start to value more fully when we fall ill. In facing complex diseases such as cancer, there is the tendency to think of a cancer diagnosis as end of life or one might even tend to think there is no reason to live any longer. And while a cancer diagnosis is a frightening experience, the most important realization is that life is a gift. With a positive attitude most difficult challenges can be managed better.

Mariah Lookman is one such courageous woman who believes in the latter and has gone so far as to assist cancer patients on their journey with the illness. She is the founder of the initiative the CancerFund-Galle trust that fundraises to improve cancer care in Sri Lanka. The aim of the CancerFund-Galle is to mobilize the arts; by organizing art exhibitions, film screenings and concerts to raise funds to help the cancer patients and their families. The CancerFund-Galle trust hopes to work with a number of professional bodies to raise cancer prevention awareness that led to projects that highlight the relationship between environmental degradation and cancer incidence as well.

We were delighted to be able to interview this incredible woman who has been trying to make a change. Here is the pioneer of CancerFund- Galle herself, Mariah Lookman.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your personal journey. We understand you were born and raised in Pakistan and then moved to Sri Lanka after marriage?

My practice consists of drawing and working with moving images. As a part of my work as a professional artist, I have been invited to curate, teach, research and write on art. When I was young, my mother, who is a wonderful painter, taught me how to use water colors. What is even better is that she let me use her paintbrushes and this, for me, was magic! I attended the National College of Arts (NCA) in Lahore where I studied painting and photography; this was when I started to dabble with experimental films. After graduating from NCA, I went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and returned to Pakistan for teaching. I was fortunate to be invited by my former teacher and mentor Lala Rukh to join her on the newly formed MA programme at NCA. Lala Rukh has been a huge influence in my life, both as a teacher and then later on as a colleague and friend. In fact, it is her who introduced me to Muhanned, who I married later. After working at NCA, I went on Oxford, to the Ruskin School of Art for my graduate studies.

Given that you are married to the well-known Sri Lankan visual artist Muhanned Cader, has your own work been influenced by him or his work?

It is a funny thing to be an Artist Couple. I would like to think that I am his muse.

We are very excited about your upcoming Art Exhibition. Share with us some details; who will be featured?

I began working on establishing an organization as a trust to assist those affected by cancer a little more than a year ago. Our organization is called "CancerFund-Galle" and our goal is to improve care and support for cancer patients in Galle. We are an environmentally conscious group of professionals (artists, architects, bankers, lawyers, activists, doctors, nurses, and so on) who have banded together for this work. Our inaugural fundraiser is titled "Tonight No Poetry Will Serve" after a poem by Adrienne Rich. We take inspiration from Rich and think of the exhibition as a cancer awareness generator. Tonight No Poetry Will Serve will be held at the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo and at the Galle Fort Art Gallery in Galle. All proceeds go in aid of the Oncology and Palliative Care Unit in T. H. Karapitiya. You can find out more about our work at www.cancerfund-galle.org

Will the exhibition be open to the general public or will it be invitees only?

The exhibition will be open to the public.

Will you be exhibiting your own collection as well?

If by “collection” you mean my own work, then no. I will not be showing any work at the exhibition. My work is to organize the exhibition and everything that goes into it.

Tell us a bit about your new collection. What inspired you?

My most recent film is currently on display at the Asian Art Biennale in Taiwan. The film was shot entirely on a mobile phone camera in the jungles of Sri Lanka. It is 29 minutes long and you could say that I took advantage of the fact that there were no tourists in the country due to the lockdowns that took place. If it had not been for the Covid19 factor, recording this type of film would have been quite an impossible task. The film is supported by Colomboscope and will be shown in Colombo in early 2022.

Do you miss life in Pakistan? Or as we say - are you a proper islander now?

Sri Lanka is home, at least for now, and I do love living in the tropics. That being said, I also miss Pakistan, my friends, family, the mountains, the weather and especially the fruit.

Can you share with our audience the dates for the upcoming exhibition?

The art exhibition will be held at the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo from the 26th of November to the 5th of December, as well as at the Galle Fort Art Gallery in the Galle Fort from the 28th of November to the 5th of December.

We understand that all proceeds will go to the Cancer Hospital. What prompted you to make a donation to a cancer hospital?

The proceeds from the sale of all the artwork, the limited-edition exhibition catalogue Tonight No Poetry Will Serve, Elephant Dung Paper Sketchbooks by Eco Maximus and the Raffle Draw are in aid of the Cancer Hospital in Galle.

When I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer for the second time last year, I thought it might be a good idea to build a pool of money to help cancer patients. As I got better, I was determined to do something. My inspiration comes from the wonderfully dedicated doctors and nurses who cared for me. Universal health care, in my opinion, is a fundamental human right.

Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a National Health Service and I believe it is everyone's responsibility to protect this facility. When it comes to funding for weaponry in order to prepare for war, no government makes any hesitations. However, when it comes to basic human rights like education and health care- resources are a problem. We need to seriously ask why does this happen? For example, a country like Pakistan with a large army does not have the public health sector to match.

Tell us about a memorable exhibition you've hosted in the past or your most memorable collection to date.

I think the current exhibition that I am working on is certainly going to be my most memorable for a variety of reasons. First of all because it is not a commercial show and this is the collaborative effort of artists from Sri Lanka and all over the world that have donated work for the exhibition. This group of artists is made of my friends, colleagues, students and mentors that have played a major role in my life. The artists in the exhibition are Ali Kazim, Anoli Perera, Anwar Saeed, Hamra Abbas, Mahbub Shah, Muhanned Cader, Menika van der Poorten, Chandragupta Thenuwara, Nelun Harasgama, Barbara Sansoni, Stephen Champion, T. Shanaathanan, SP Pushpakanthan, Ruppaneethan Pakkiyarajah, Jeanne Thwaites, T. Vinoja, Tim Kurtz, Duk Ju L. Kim, Elizabeth Porter, Hugo Tillman, Karunasiri Wijeshinghe, Ayesha Jatoi and Dominic Sansoni.

I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to the amazing team at Tashe, especially Ashwin Corera, for creating the website for CancerFund – Galle. I would like to thank my designers, Lelia Aluwihare and Ahsan Masood, whom I love; the artists I have had the pleasure of working with to make this collaboration a success; Dr. Chrysantha Perera who heads the Palliative Care Unit at T. H. Karapitiya in Galle, Dr. Chatura Anuruddha, Nurse Dilrukshi Fernando and the remarkable Shyamala Jayawardena from Shyamala School of Art who assisted in piloting Art Therapy sessions at the Palliative Care unit; the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo and the Galle Fort Art Gallery in Galle, who have graciously provided us with exhibition space; Lahiru Padmalal for being our tech friend, Shehan de Silva of Gunaratne Press Pvt (Ltd) for taking care of the printing work, Geoffrey Bawa Trust Curator Shayari de Silva for organizing the Raffle prizes through the Trust; my friends and family for lending a helping hand with ticket sales; Oshini Perera, Rishard Jafferjee and Adam Jafferjee for handling social media promotion; Mohamed Adamaly and Dilsha Jayawardena for all legal work; our sponsors, particularly Alnaas Esufally, for their invaluable support; Eco-Maximus for creating bespoke Sketchbooks; Nishantha Hettiarachchi Studio and Modigliani Gallery in Colombo for the framing, all the Trustees and the Steering Committee whom I have been bothering at odd hours for many months; and finally, my CancerFund friends and family that have my back at all times. The list goes on and on, but these are just a few of the reasons why this exhibition will be the most memorable.

While we wish Mariah Lookman the best of luck with her upcoming Art Exhibition, we encourage you, the general public, to contribute to a good cause and let’s help beat cancer together.