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Exploring Human, Nature, Conflict and Me through art

12 Jul 2021

Protecting the planet we call home is of vital importance. We have no backup planet or world that we can retreat to, should life on Earth become unsustainable. Sri Lanka’s relationship with its environment is complex.  We are one of the world’s largest plastic polluters, and this was before the MV X-Press Pearl disaster. We are famed for our elephants, but have a staggering amount of human-elephant conflict, with over 400 elephant deaths reported in 2020. Our tropical island, which once saw 84% of its landmass under closed canopy forest cover, now has a primary forest of less than 17%. While this does sound bleak, we are not doomed, we can recover, and one way of being able to heal our planet is through careful conservation.  The Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) Ltd., is one of those organisations that has selflessly devoted itself to the protection and conservation of the environment since 1981 through legal and scientific means. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, over the last 40 years, ELF has been extensively involved in the implementation of decisions and ensuring compliances of national and international laws and has developed projects in areas of wildlife conservation and habitat protection with local and international institutes.  Art has always had the power to heal and drive progress, and as part of their 40th-anniversary celebrations, EFL is organising an art and photography competition with nature and creative expression at its heart. The competition is open to anyone from any age group or walks of life to take part and showcase their creative ability through different mediums, digital and traditional. Centred around the theme, “Human, Nature, Conflict, and Me”, the competition has been created to allow entrants to explore things like the relationship between humans and nature, our codependency, human-created pollution and crimes against nature, individual and collective responsibility, and solutions, diversity, and beauty of nature. Brunch spoke to EFL who shared that the competition was conceived partly to re-educate Sri Lankans on conflict and both the intentional and unintentional impacts we as humans have on the environment as we try to develop ourselves and the country.  The art competition is divided into two segments – art (including sculpture, digital etc.) and photography. Entrants are welcome to submit a maximum of two entries across both competitions.  Open to all ages, the competition underscores EFL’s belief that conservation is not a topic for any single sector, industry, or group of people, but is geared towards every citizen, regardless of how old they are. The art competition features three broad age categories – 12 years and under, 12 to 18 years and 18 years and above – to give all generations, present and future, the chance to express their views on the conflicts we face with the environment, and its composite elements from an artistic viewpoint.  The winners will be selected by two panels of judges, all of whom are esteemed in their field. The panel for the photography segment include award-winning photographer and photojournalist Yamuni Perera, freelance graphics, photography and media designer and University of Moratuwa Architecture Faculty Lecturer Dharana Semasinghe, Tele Extreme Founder/Managing Director and Photographic Society of SL (PSSL) Past President Mithra Weerakone. The judges for the art segment include freelance artist/retired Overseas School of Colombo Visual Arts teacher Devika Ilayperuma-Florrimell, internationally acclaimed environmental architect Sunela Jayawardene, painter, sculptor, and George Keyt Foundation Chairman Michael Anthonisz. The 18 chosen winners from both categories will receive certificates and cash prizes. The winning submissions will be displayed at an online exhibition and subsequently on the EFL social media channels. EFL also shared the competition is meant to be a platform to help ensure every citizen, irrespective of their age, learns to love and care for the environment, which, at the base of it, is the most valuable heritage we have received from our ancestors, and is a heritage that we need to make sure future generations also get to experience and enjoy. It added that competition is meant “to cultivate sensitivity and a positive attitude towards the environment among Sri Lankans, especially the younger generation, while minimising conflict and violence against nature; and to raise awareness on the battles that EFL has fought to preserve the environment throughout its 40-year journey”.    Entries for the EFL’s 40th-anniversary art and photography competition close on 28 July 2021. For more information on the competition, its guidelines and criteria, please visit the EFL website (www.efl.lk) or their social media. INSTAGRAM: @environmentalfoundationlimited  FACEBOOK: @environmentalfoundation   


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