Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Sri Lanka; Academy of Fine Arts, The Netherlands; Dutch Art Institute, The Netherlands.

Exhibition

Has Exhibited in New York, Colombo, Kandy, Velsen, Oldenzaal, Heerenveen, Amsterdam, Weert, Delden, Nijmegen, Starzach and Gronau.

Sanjeewa Kumara' s work is directed towards a new dimension, and is not connected very directly with defining the ‘present’. However, they do not exclusively portray exotic, primitive, decorative or metaphysical narratives. He find the motifs from colonialism and post-colonialism, Colonial expansion is a story of the meeting between European and Asian peoples. The mercantile and industrial capitalism of Portuguese, Spanish, British, Dutch, Belgian etc. reflects the South Indian Ocean trade developments. Over 450 years of colonization and 30 years of independence communicate this trans-cultural conversation. Most significantly, Colonialism and post-colonialism raises questions about how notions of 'self ' and 'identity' have undergone deep and permanent changes because of the complex impact of Imperial cultures on native civilizations. His works establish a forum to discuss these crucial issues.

S K Weerasinghe