Not just a doodle

-Tilak Samarawickrema

Tilak’s art practice is a reflection of the evolution of Sri Lankan artforms. Despite living in Italy for a long period of time, his work has retained the essence of his homeland and its culture.

When visiting his studio and home, we were instantly drawn to the drawings scattered around his living room. As he spoke, one understood how the drawings reflected his life and how he was a reflection of his art. His life is deeply intertwined with the process of creation, and his creations are deeply rooted in his experiences. Behind the making of every great artist is a mind that juxtaposes ideas, thoughts and colours in a unique manner. The peculiarities of Tilak and his humility as a human come together in his work whether woven or drawn. This peculiarity translates in his drawings and etchings with exaggerated and distinct figures.

During his formative years as a student in Milan, Tilak began making drawings and developing his film Andare of Sri Lanka. Tilak redefines the line in his drawings, using his tropical modernist background to create a unique style. The influence of the Buddhist Sri Lankan murals and the Sinhalese alphabet reflect in his drawings and etchings. The aesthetic traditions he grew up seeing transform in his work.

Lines, patterns and simple shapes come together in his tapestries, which exude a distinct order and hierarchy. Through each warp and weft of the loom, he merges the traditional weaves with his contemporary and architectural vision. The colour and rhythm of the lines and shapes in his tapestries create forms that are geometric yet fluid. 

Trained as an architect, an apprentice of Geoffrey Bawa, Tilak did not imagine his career as an artist to bloom. In conversation with him, he said it is only later around the 1960s that he realised that his doodles were not merely just doodles and that is where his journey with art began. It is the gallery’s privilege to exhibit a diverse body of his work through the years and showcase his evolution as an artist through them.