Tamil Collective Memory, 2021
Acrylic on canvas board, 14″x18″
Whether sitting on rocks at Wellawatte beach or walking along a lane towards a family home in the neighbourhood, waiting in the background of my mind are collective memories of violence, destruction, exile and death. Detached from space, these memories have become stories passed down through generations.
While I have tried to tether these stories to eroding and destroyed physical spaces in my own writing, I have never successfully found the words to capture this feeling.
One where alongside the sunsets and bustle of the city, I am constantly aware of these threads of memory across the landscape, a secret history that only some of us see and others choose to ignore, or worse yet, have forgotten. I’ve tried to capture some of that feeling here and hope to explore further.
sindu sivayogam 