Traditional forms, techniques, and craft are rich inheritances that push forward the stories of familial legacies across generations in South Asia, in particular. Artist Anoli Perera sat down with us for ARTRA Magazine’s South Asian Contemporary Art Edition 68, to discuss the liberating essence of her textile practice, enriched by a home and childhood dominated…
Tayeba Lipi, 2019, Mirror, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York City The human body is a social site, as much as it is a biological organism. It is both personal and public, which consciously, and at times unconsciously, participates in transmitting multiplex of meanings to us as spectators. The curated works of Ali Kazim (b.1979, Pakistan),…
Constructing intersections between the past and present, art poignantly reflects the cultural, technological, and political transcendence of ever-evolving landscapes. In ARTRA Magazine’s South Asian Contemporary Art Edition, we conversed with featured artist Ali Kazim (Pakistan), whose timeless works of art are amidst seminal public collections of global repute, including the Tate, Ashmolean Museum, and British…
For ARTRA Magazine’s South Asian Contemporary Art Edition 68, we conversed with featured contemporary artist Tayeba Begum Lipi (Bangladesh) about her poignant oeuvre of works, especially in sculpture which are in seminal public collections such as the Tate Modern UK, Solomon R. Guggenheim NYC, and the Royal Ontario Museum among others. In this interview, Tayeba…
Ismeth Raheem, 1980, Negombo Fishermen, Raheem Collection, Colombo Born on 18 October 1941 to M.M.A. Raheem and Ayesha Raheem from the Jaffna Peninsula, Ismeth Raheem was raised with his eight siblings in Hulftsdorp, amidst the rambunctious bustle of Colombo, and later in their family home in the quiet neighbourhood of Colpetty. His unique upbringing served…
Ismeth Raheem in addition to being an accomplished Architect, Artist and Art Historian, has written a canon of essays and critiques published across newspapers, catalogues, journals and significant publications within a wide range of disciplines from the history of Sri Lanka through art, architecture, archaeology and photography to research publications on natural history. In the…
Intersecting art and architecture is a seminal characteristic of Ismeth Raheem’s multidisciplinary work as an Architect, Art Historian and Artist. When approaching his portfolio of works, it became clear that his practice at Edwards, Reid and Begg as a draughtsman and architectural assistant under Geoffrey Bawa and Ulrik Plesner in the 1960s had a profound…
Much of Ismeth Raheem’s work is coloured by his enduring fascination with the natural world. From indigenous Sri Lankan plant life rendered in ink to the feathered plumage of birds painted with ornithological precision, his creative exploration of the wild has over the years encompassed a profound appreciation for Sri Lanka’s natural landscapes and their…
The photograph of the pearl fishery marine biology laboratory captured in 1902 by James Hornell, the marine biologist who had conducted research on the pearl oysters in that very space, was situated in Galle Fort. From a macro perspective, the laboratory highlights the largely undiscerned history of marine economy in 20th century Sri Lanka encompassing…
Q | In your opinion, what are the elements and influences that constitute Galle Fort’s architecture and design? A | Galle Fort is one of the largest living forts built by Colonial powers in South Asia, and it has a very unique character. This uniqueness is a result of the many influences continuously at play…
Content – \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The Galle Fort is a paragon of historical and architectural consequence, where the echoes of centuries past interlock with the vivacious rhythm of the present in all grandeur. In the curation of ARTRA Magazine’s Galle Fort in the Contemporary Edition 66 (2024), we conversed with the revered architect Channa Daswatte, who is also…
Though political cartoons are a symptom of an older era of print journalism, their enduring relevance today could be attributed to the distinct niche they hold within the genre. Political cartoons have the simultaneous ability to critique and amuse, and thus balance comic tones with arresting poignancy. It is an ability reminiscent of the courtly…
Political cartoons in the contemporary have adapted from their nascent forms within the traditional columns of print journalism. Variants—from social media posts to protest signs—continue to endure in the contemporary context through the growing relevancy of social criticism as a means of accountability, especially from the public domain towards institutional and elected ones. By utilizing…
Famed for his iconic affiliation with the ‘43 Group, Aubrey Collette was a remarkable caricature artist whose works danced the delicate lines between comic and critical, which brought to light the socio-political intricacies underlying Sri Lanka’s prominent societal figures in the early to mid-1900s. His politically forward cartoons—the very same he was lauded and then eventually…
Laki Senanayake was born in 1937, the seventh of the eight children of Reginald and Florence Senanayake. Both his parents were active in left-wing politics and campaigned for workers’ rights. Reginald was a planter and a founder member of the Marxist Lanka Sama Samajist Party (LSSP). In 1942 he was imprisoned by the British for…
Bringing together some of the most renowned local artists and architects, the contributors and speakers for the Launch of ARTRA Magazine’s Laki Senanayake Edition & Art Experiential Festival include architect and academic Ismeth Raheem, who worked very closely with Geoffrey Bawa and Laki Senanayake on many architectural projects that have shaped the uniqueness of Sri…
Aubrey Collette, Sapumal Foundation Collection Left to right across tiered dimensions Geoffrey Beling, Harry Pieris, Richard Gabriel, Ivan Peries, Lionel Wendt, George Keyt, L.T.P Manjusri, George Claessen, Aubrey Collette, Justin Daraniyagala. Core Members of the ‘43 Group The Modernist Works of the ‘43 Group were a revolt against the status quo, reflecting the evolving civilization…
The ‘43 Group maybe bygone, but the seeds they sowed of new thought and form shaped the beginnings of Sri Lanka’s Modern & Contemporary Art. Thus, we take great pride in publishing this important edition in celebration of ARTRA Magazine’s decennium, paying homage to this historic movement. So firmly infused with the instinctual, their works…
Though not refuting the presence of a fair volume of pictorial and malleable characteristics of European art, the ’43 Group were stirred with a sense of the imaginative and potent realities of the human condition. From those of social truths to societal stigmas, the works of the ’43 Group are symbolic to visual idioms of…
Cultural heritage upholds our distinctiveness as a community as it attempts to model an inclusive frame for the preservation of conventions, ways of living and tradition. The palpable characteristics of culture are those that are physical and tangible yet still retains its visually inherent nature of influencing subsequent generations and eras of art. In this…