Sri Lankan artist exhibition inspired by fashion to open CFW

Mar 10, 2017 (LBO) - Under the theme 'Celebrate Colombo,' Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) will include a new initiative called 'Art Connect' which will exemplify the connection between the creative streams of Fashion and Art, its organizers said.





Art Connect will be the first of the series of events during the week of CFW and is the kick-off event. For the first time five major artists will come together to create work that is inspired by fashion.





Their means of expression are distinctly unique and each have picked up an element of fashion to create on. The name of the exhibition 'Second Skin', closely represents fashion and will be a first of sorts with each artist creating five pieces each which will be exhibited at a unique venue in Colombo on the evening of the 13th of March.

The artists are as follows: Mahen Perera - His work explores the innate mutability of materials that gravitate between painting and sculpture; how permutation reconstructs and provides new stimuli for visual perception. Sanjeewa Kumara - He explores the use of lush, sensual imagery, and how the collision of Western pop culture and the South Asian Islands post-colonial legacy impacts his imagination. Pala Pothupitiye - He confronts issues such as colonialism, nationalism, religious extremism and extends his inquiry to questions of caste, the distinction between arts and crafts, tradition and modernity.

Sanjaya Geekiyanage - He uses copper as a medium for his work; evoking different colours from the material. His is an unusual technique of wrecking the copper and reassembling it for sculptures.

"We really wanted to create an event or a project where there is a meaningful interaction between Fashion and Art," Fazeena Rajabdeen, chief executive of Colombo Fashion Week said.

"We wanted the Artists to have a feel for it so that it does not remain just on the surface. I went about looking for a 'fit' that will define what we were looking for, I met Chamika and this journey started.

This will be very interesting and the venue will perfectly represent the creative work.

" The curator of this exhibition is Chamika De Alwis, Chartered Architect by profession, but passionate about art, he has worked closely with Fazeena to create this. This collaboration will create an exciting exhibition and an event that will add to interesting things that Colombo as a city has to offer. The week also aims to showcase Colombo as a city that comes together with different creative streams that can be experienced during Colombo Fashion Week.