- Dileepa Jeewantha on his latest exhibition ‘My Faces’
Dileepa Jeewantha[/caption]
Born in 1980 in Galle, Sri Lanka, he holds a Higher Diploma In Multi-Disciplinary Designing from the National Design School in Sri Lanka and also followed a Certificate Course in Paintings from Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA), Colombo.
Brunch had a chat with Dileepa on his recent work and what’s in store for his future.
His most recent exhibition, titled “My Faces”, is an expression of himself. A key element to growing as an artist is discovering artists that differ from your aesthetic. Artists all around the world are constantly expressing their emotions differently, with their own personal techniques and inspirations. He explained that he used his face to paint all the sensations, emotions, and feelings in a person’s life. “It may include the blossoming flowers; petals that have faded, broken off, and withered; as well as my requirements at the time of drawing that art.” Each of those symbols is accompanied by a reading that is relevant to that moment. This body of work can be introduced as the way he came, the way he goes, and his footprints. Describing the process behind these fascinating artwork, Dileepa expressed: “Like the DNA in gene forms, I have copied what I and my five masses feel and sense in my paintings. Inside that copy is the prototype, which is not covered by an outer casing. My real form. After building that prototype on a canvas, it no longer belongs to me.” Anyone that was lucky enough to have glimpsed this artwork, would have seen a shard of his soul on the canvas.
We asked him why he chose to incorporate his face into his work, to which he responded that his face is the only part of his body that he cannot see himself, unless the help of a mirror or something reflective is employed. “One will never be able to fully grasp the extent of emotion that is depicted by a human face, which is why I choose to use my face in the painting, as a reflection of emotion upon the art,” he further explained.
For Dileepa, the biggest challenge in self-portraiture also feels like the greatest gift. Sharing the parts of himself that are so vulnerable, exposing deep-seated, life-long fears, has been difficult.
To the untrained eye, his painting may merely look like a portrait of a man – in this case – himself, but if one was to look close, Dileepa hinted that there are hidden elements that he has incorporated into the drawings, again to bring forth the message that a human face hides several things; be it emotion, secrets, or knowledge. He noted that it is also important to push through feelings of frustration and discouragement when the creative pieces don’t fall into place right away. Over the years as a painter, he has learned to be patient and trust the creative process. “Being open to the process and its challenges is what sustains me, enthralls me, and helps me to grow and develop as an artist.”
This exhibition was made easier to put out because of the pandemic as it gave Dileepa the time needed to sit down and immerse in his work. “I never faced any challenge because of the pandemic, because I am a studio artist, so I did what I usually do and sat in my studio and painted,” he explained. Creating his self-portraiture requires him to take time away from everything and everyone else completely – so that he can focus entirely within to make his art. “This is a crucial part of the process for me, and logistically it poses a challenge because it’s rare that I have moments of solitude when all the other forces (inspiration, ideas) align for me to create,” he added, explaining why this pandemic was actually a blessing to him.
The intent and messages behind his self-portraiture are at the core of my being. “I can only hope that I leave people feeling inspired! It’s not important to me that the messages in my art come across to others as I feel them or see them,” he shared.
One of the many beautiful things about art is that people will often see more of themselves reflected in artwork than they will of the artist – sometimes it might even shed light on parts of their being they didn’t know were there before.