Women Artists’ Colloquium Exhibition 2009/2010: "Omnipresence of the Prick"
“The strength of a woman can carry the weight of the world”~ Sarah Pezdek-Smith, (1980-),American born Ukranian Artist, Poet and Writer
Women Artists' Colloquium Exhibition 2009/2010: “Omnipresence of the Prick” was inaugurated at Theertha Red Dot Gallery in Pitakotte on July 24th 2010. An exhibition of Art Works by 9 women artists will remain open to the public from July 25th 2010 to August 3rd 2010.Gallery hours-Monday to Wednesday 10.30AM-5.00PM and Sunday 11.00AM-4.30PM.
Lakisha Fernando, Krishanthi Sepalika, Manori Jayasinghe, Janani Cooray, Shamila Priyadarshani, Inoka De Silva, Priyanthi Anusha, Sajeewani Hewawitharana and Therica Miyanadeniya are participating in the Women Artists’ Colloquium Exhibition 2009/2010: “Omnipresence of the Prick”. Jagath Weerasinghe was the exhibition curator and mentor for colloquium 2010 and Menika van der Pooten was the mentor for colloquium 2009.
Participating nine women artists at the inauguration
The new initiative will encourage many women artists to bring out their hidden talents
Viewers are seen taking a closer look at the Manhood
Kingsley Gunatillake is taking a closer look at the catalogue
It is a different approach say a many art lovers
Koralegedara Pushpakumara is taking a closer look at "Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy"
"Cockroaches" by Inoka De Silva.I feel disgusted with the sexual harassments that women are subjected to by men. It is a violent intrusion into personal space, using the phallus as a weapon with power and strength, purely for male satisfaction. My work registers this unwelcome male sexual assault and the repugnancy of that act
"Manhood" by Janani Cooray. Contemporary man sustains his manhood on many physical objects such as cars, cell phones and other wearable items. My work comments on how men construct their manhood and become heroic through the association of these ‘modern’ objects
"Stone Age Weapons" by Krishanthi Sepalika. The man is represented as a heroic character in the overall art discourse where the male occupies a dominant role in art traditions, authorship and politics. I perceive this ‘dominance of the male’ as an intolerable and a rough experience. Recalling the acts of the male chauvinism, I find the power of his overt masculinity threatening. I feel that writing everything in male-terms is obstructing the space and possibilities of the woman. In my work, Stone Age weapons are depicted enlarged and erected alluding to a phallus to denote the unfairly exaggerated power of the male in history, while silently hiding the role and space of women
"Stone Age Weapons" by Krishanthi Sepalika. The man is represented as a heroic character in the overall art discourse where the male occupies a dominant role in art traditions, authorship and politics. I perceive this ‘dominance of the male’ as an intolerable and a rough experience. Recalling the acts of the male chauvinism, I find the power of his overt masculinity threatening. I feel that writing everything in male-terms is obstructing the space and possibilities of the woman. In my work, Stone Age weapons are depicted enlarged and erected alluding to a phallus to denote the unfairly exaggerated power of the male in history, while silently hiding the role and space of women
"Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy" by Lakisha Fernando.I find men consuming the female body through their gaze in a way that restricts the movement and expressiveness of women
"Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy" by Lakisha Fernando.I find men consuming the female body through their gaze in a way that restricts the movement and expressiveness of women
"Woman’s Space" by Manori Jayasinghe. Men continue to invade women’s space physically and emotionally !!!!
"Tatoos" by Priyanthi Anusha. The constant reaffirmation of his masculinity, virility and manhood is the foundation of man’s investment on beautifying his body as a desired object
"Poruwa Ceremony" by Sajeewani Hewawitharana.The main focus in my work is to critically look at the male behaviour in the context of female presence at certain
moments. For this, I have chosen the rituals preformed at the traditional wedding platform ‘poruwa’ and the assigned activities and the role for the male as the bridegroom.Certain aspects of this ritual such as adorning the bride
with various garments are highlighted in my work
"Shadow" by Therica Miyanadeniya. The male identity casts a shadow over everything that is female. The male identity takes on many forms to fashion her according to his own liking in order to generate his own authority. The very presence of a male puts the female on her guard and alerts her to be cautious in what she does and say. My work critically comments on this lopsided power play and the need for fresh female perspectives on countering it
"Leeches" by Shamila Priyadarshani.My intention is to show how male masculine power intrudes into women’s space (physical and mental) without women’s consent, and use it for their own sensual and sexual intentions
Viewers at the Leeches video presentation
Capturing the moments at the inauguration
This is an event organised by the Women’s Art Program of Theertha International Artists Collective as part of the Women Artists’ Colloquium to support art practices of women artists
Artist Anoli Perera says the following in her introduction to Women Artists’ Colloquium (WAC):-
Women Artists’ Colloquium (WAC) was envisaged by Theertha as a program that would support female artists to enhance and sustain their art practice. While the idea of segregating women artists as a separate category is problematic in general,in a situation where women as artists facevaried impositions within their social, cultural and personal contexts, it is important to give special focus to women who are engaged in art to stabilize their careers as artists. Hence, the necessity for programs such as Women Artists’ Colloquium.
The exhibition, put together by the artists taking part in the 2009/2010 WACs, is very provocatively named, ‘Omnipresence of the Prick’. Chosen for its contentious nature,the title/theme basically touches the underlying essence of all the works presented in the exhibition. Initiated as an academic exercise of dissecting and defining the ‘gaze’ as male and female, the colloquium under the mentoring of JagathWeerasinghe explosively brought out the un- inhibited reaction towards the presence of an often unwelcome and intrusive ‘maleness’ from a female perspective. This exhibition records as artwork these un-reticent manifestations of female counter reaction to the macho maleness in society, an attitude which women artists themselves have to face on a day to day basis in their lives. Although within the wider global academic feminist discourses, such basic reactions to the presence of macho male has been debated quite some time ago and moved on, at a local level, in reality, women have to negotiate with this macho maleness at its most blatant form at every point in their lives. As such, if this exhibition presents the female reaction to the hegemony of the male in its raw sense, it has been done consciously to make a point.
The exhibition ‘Omnipresence of the Prick’ is an effort by the participants of 2009 and 2010Colloquiums. The WAC 2009 conducted by Menika van der Pootenwas specifically focused on photography. This resulted in a number of women artists working enthusiastically on photography. This also has contributed to Theertha’s intention of promoting photography, new media and video art within the artists’ community in Sri Lanka. Weerasinghe’s mentoring has exposed women artists to critical thought and insightful, sometimes explosive, discussions on feminism, art and women’s art practices. All these knowledge transfers have contributed to enhancing the criticality and innovation in women artists’ work. As such, Theertha and the WAC would like to acknowledge both Menika van der Pooten and JagathWeerasinghe for their support towards WAC programs.
We acknowledge the Arts Collaboratory and Ford Foundation for their long term support of the Theertha Women’s Program and the WAC.
Women Artists' Colloquium Exhibition 2009/2010: “Omnipresence of the Prick” was inaugurated at Theertha Red Dot Gallery in Pitakotte on July 24th 2010. An exhibition of Art Works by 9 women artists will remain open to the public from July 25th 2010 to August 3rd 2010.Gallery hours-Monday to Wednesday 10.30AM-5.00PM and Sunday 11.00AM-4.30PM.
Lakisha Fernando, Krishanthi Sepalika, Manori Jayasinghe, Janani Cooray, Shamila Priyadarshani, Inoka De Silva, Priyanthi Anusha, Sajeewani Hewawitharana and Therica Miyanadeniya are participating in the Women Artists’ Colloquium Exhibition 2009/2010: “Omnipresence of the Prick”. Jagath Weerasinghe was the exhibition curator and mentor for colloquium 2010 and Menika van der Pooten was the mentor for colloquium 2009.
Participating nine women artists at the inauguration
The new initiative will encourage many women artists to bring out their hidden talents
Viewers are seen taking a closer look at the Manhood
Kingsley Gunatillake is taking a closer look at the catalogue
It is a different approach say a many art lovers
Koralegedara Pushpakumara is taking a closer look at "Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy"
"Cockroaches" by Inoka De Silva.I feel disgusted with the sexual harassments that women are subjected to by men. It is a violent intrusion into personal space, using the phallus as a weapon with power and strength, purely for male satisfaction. My work registers this unwelcome male sexual assault and the repugnancy of that act
"Manhood" by Janani Cooray. Contemporary man sustains his manhood on many physical objects such as cars, cell phones and other wearable items. My work comments on how men construct their manhood and become heroic through the association of these ‘modern’ objects
"Stone Age Weapons" by Krishanthi Sepalika. The man is represented as a heroic character in the overall art discourse where the male occupies a dominant role in art traditions, authorship and politics. I perceive this ‘dominance of the male’ as an intolerable and a rough experience. Recalling the acts of the male chauvinism, I find the power of his overt masculinity threatening. I feel that writing everything in male-terms is obstructing the space and possibilities of the woman. In my work, Stone Age weapons are depicted enlarged and erected alluding to a phallus to denote the unfairly exaggerated power of the male in history, while silently hiding the role and space of women
"Stone Age Weapons" by Krishanthi Sepalika. The man is represented as a heroic character in the overall art discourse where the male occupies a dominant role in art traditions, authorship and politics. I perceive this ‘dominance of the male’ as an intolerable and a rough experience. Recalling the acts of the male chauvinism, I find the power of his overt masculinity threatening. I feel that writing everything in male-terms is obstructing the space and possibilities of the woman. In my work, Stone Age weapons are depicted enlarged and erected alluding to a phallus to denote the unfairly exaggerated power of the male in history, while silently hiding the role and space of women
"Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy" by Lakisha Fernando.I find men consuming the female body through their gaze in a way that restricts the movement and expressiveness of women
"Your Eye Tries to Pierce My Tummy" by Lakisha Fernando.I find men consuming the female body through their gaze in a way that restricts the movement and expressiveness of women
"Woman’s Space" by Manori Jayasinghe. Men continue to invade women’s space physically and emotionally !!!!
"Tatoos" by Priyanthi Anusha. The constant reaffirmation of his masculinity, virility and manhood is the foundation of man’s investment on beautifying his body as a desired object
"Poruwa Ceremony" by Sajeewani Hewawitharana.The main focus in my work is to critically look at the male behaviour in the context of female presence at certain
moments. For this, I have chosen the rituals preformed at the traditional wedding platform ‘poruwa’ and the assigned activities and the role for the male as the bridegroom.Certain aspects of this ritual such as adorning the bride
with various garments are highlighted in my work
"Shadow" by Therica Miyanadeniya. The male identity casts a shadow over everything that is female. The male identity takes on many forms to fashion her according to his own liking in order to generate his own authority. The very presence of a male puts the female on her guard and alerts her to be cautious in what she does and say. My work critically comments on this lopsided power play and the need for fresh female perspectives on countering it
"Leeches" by Shamila Priyadarshani.My intention is to show how male masculine power intrudes into women’s space (physical and mental) without women’s consent, and use it for their own sensual and sexual intentions
Viewers at the Leeches video presentation
Capturing the moments at the inauguration
This is an event organised by the Women’s Art Program of Theertha International Artists Collective as part of the Women Artists’ Colloquium to support art practices of women artists
Artist Anoli Perera says the following in her introduction to Women Artists’ Colloquium (WAC):-
Women Artists’ Colloquium (WAC) was envisaged by Theertha as a program that would support female artists to enhance and sustain their art practice. While the idea of segregating women artists as a separate category is problematic in general,in a situation where women as artists facevaried impositions within their social, cultural and personal contexts, it is important to give special focus to women who are engaged in art to stabilize their careers as artists. Hence, the necessity for programs such as Women Artists’ Colloquium.
The exhibition, put together by the artists taking part in the 2009/2010 WACs, is very provocatively named, ‘Omnipresence of the Prick’. Chosen for its contentious nature,the title/theme basically touches the underlying essence of all the works presented in the exhibition. Initiated as an academic exercise of dissecting and defining the ‘gaze’ as male and female, the colloquium under the mentoring of JagathWeerasinghe explosively brought out the un- inhibited reaction towards the presence of an often unwelcome and intrusive ‘maleness’ from a female perspective. This exhibition records as artwork these un-reticent manifestations of female counter reaction to the macho maleness in society, an attitude which women artists themselves have to face on a day to day basis in their lives. Although within the wider global academic feminist discourses, such basic reactions to the presence of macho male has been debated quite some time ago and moved on, at a local level, in reality, women have to negotiate with this macho maleness at its most blatant form at every point in their lives. As such, if this exhibition presents the female reaction to the hegemony of the male in its raw sense, it has been done consciously to make a point.
The exhibition ‘Omnipresence of the Prick’ is an effort by the participants of 2009 and 2010Colloquiums. The WAC 2009 conducted by Menika van der Pootenwas specifically focused on photography. This resulted in a number of women artists working enthusiastically on photography. This also has contributed to Theertha’s intention of promoting photography, new media and video art within the artists’ community in Sri Lanka. Weerasinghe’s mentoring has exposed women artists to critical thought and insightful, sometimes explosive, discussions on feminism, art and women’s art practices. All these knowledge transfers have contributed to enhancing the criticality and innovation in women artists’ work. As such, Theertha and the WAC would like to acknowledge both Menika van der Pooten and JagathWeerasinghe for their support towards WAC programs.
We acknowledge the Arts Collaboratory and Ford Foundation for their long term support of the Theertha Women’s Program and the WAC.
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