LAKI SENANAYAKE EDITION - EDITORIAL

By Azara Jaleel

“Call me an hour before you come my dear, you never know if l’d be standing here alive” Laki would say, every time he invited me over to Diyabubula; his abode amidst the forest, atleast eight years before his passing in 2021. That was Laki, wickedly humorous, and generous to a fault and most certainly, an iconic artist. He was imaginative in nature and spirited in mind, who could not be stifled into a certain genre of artistic expression.

Having gained momentum with his sculptures, figurines and drawings, some of which in collaboration with Geoffrey Bawa, Barbara Sansoni, Ena de Silva, Ismeth Raheem, Ronald Lewcock and Ulrik Plesner at the firm Edwards Reed and Begg since the 1950’s  have contributed largely to his artistic repertoire along with the designing of the currency notes in the late 1970’s for the Sri Lankan Central Bank. Laki & Ena de Silva’s collaborations of a large ceiling batik for the New UTA Airline Office in Fort (1963), the boardroom of the British Chartered Accountants Head Office in London (1963), the silver plaited brass chandelier at the Parliament in Kotte (1981), drawings for the Catalogue of the Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya (1982), the peacock at the Bentota Beach Hotel (1969) and the handrail at Lighthouse Hotel (1995) are some of his most acclaimed artistic works that the public is privileged to indulge upon even today.

However, what you will see in this edition of ARTRA Magazine’s ‘Works of Laki Senanayake’ Endowment 64 is a series of eclectic pieces from personal collections of his family, friends and colleagues he worked very closely with, of which most have not been published before. The oldest Laki drawing in this collection is from the Barbara Sansoni Collection titled ‘Blue Film’ featured on page 41, which is a rather whimsical depiction of human bodies nestled in amatory allure. The curated collection of this edition of ARTRA Magazine invokes an intimacy, enriched by his own visceral discursive poetry. From the working drawings of his currency notes to informal drawings on pages of his sketch pad that illustrate the artist’s musings and study prior to working on the Lighthouse Hotel’s iconic staircase, the collection featured across these pages reflect his vigour and vivacity luminously, by those near and dear to him. Every work featured, ranging from collections of those of Barbara Sansoni, C. Anjalendran, Dominic and Nazreen Sansoni, Mintaka Senanayake, Channa Daswatte, Murad Ismail and Michael Meyler echo his love and passion for trees, birds, animals and most certainly, the human body and spirit in all sincerity. In my opinion, this body of work engages with his deep-rooted understanding of sensuality and eroticism in presenting a visual narrative of symbiosis; a holistic representation on the relationship between man, animal and the environment. Furthermore, they explore the profound instinct the artist possessed in evoking the nuanced breadth of his natural subjects, and that of the environment through an impulse, erratic in form and mood.

Friends & contemporaries of Laki, David Robson (Brighton, UK) revered academic, architect and writer who was instrumental in many important architectural publications and C. Anjalendran, the spirited modernist who draws from Sri Lanka’s rich vernacular traditions in his authentic approach to architecture contributed essays on ‘Laki’s Self Portrait’ and ‘Laki’s Diyabubula’ for this edition of ARTRA Magazine. Whilst the former provides an introspective understanding to his life and works in great detail, the latter explores the landscape of the artist’s mind and architecture, along with the art it embraces cohesively. In compiling this edition, it was imperative that we provide a comprehensive understanding of Laki’s artistic consciousness, in all honesty. Thus, we spoke to three very important people in Laki’s life who not only shared a close relationship with him, but who were also astute in their own understanding of Laki as an artist. Firstly, Mintaka Senanayake; Laki’s daughter and the sole heir to Laki’s Family Collection thereafter, Ismeth Raheem; the revered architect, academic and Laki’s school mate at Royal College, Colombo. Ismeth later on, worked closely with both Geoffrey Bawa and Laki on many architectural projects that shaped the uniqueness of Sri Lanka’s hospitality sector for a critical understanding of the artist’s sculptures, drawings and figurines; whose expertise and library Laki himself credits to have significantly contributed to his study of the indigenous fauna and flora. Thereafter, we spoke to Michael Meyler, Laki’s friend, researcher and author of the Sri Lankan English Dictionary who thoroughly examined the artist’s designs for the currency notes in the past few years.

We are deeply grateful to all those mentioned for their priceless contributions for making this edition of ARTRA Magazine truly special and vital, in encompassing the life and works of Laki Senanayake in all grandeur.  We hope you immerse in every work, as we are sure that as you turn every page, you will find yourself revitalized by beauty and bewilderment.

10th March, 2023 Visual Art | Paintings

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