Glimpses of southern France to the strains of piano
Seneka Abeyratne’s visually oriented performance sheds light on his creative photography and musical dexterity
On February 24, the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute was the venue for “Vistas of Languedoc”, an audiovisual presentation of artwork by Seneka Abeyratne. The 45-minute slideshow comprised 30 pieces by Seneka, transformed through edit and alteration done digitally via photoshop, using pictures captured on his three visits to Languedoc in the south of France. The slides were accompanied with a performance on the piano by Seneka, enthralling the audience with not only his beguiling pieces of art, but his commendable musical dexterity.
“I’ve always wanted to do a visually oriented performance,” says Seneka, “I don’t know if something like this has been done in Sri Lanka before.” No stranger to the fine arts, he is a Gratiaen Prize winning fiction writer, Agricultural Economist, part-time journalist as well as practitioner in the art of ballet and choreography, and has actively been in photography for quite a while, dabbling in the digital arts from 2005.
“Languedoc is an active, commercial little town,” adds Senaka, speaking of his experience in the area. “It’s the kind of thing I would love to see in Sri Lanka some day because we also have a Southern coast. All it requires
is a little bit of imagination.”
“I actually had a much larger collection of photos from the trip – around 200 photos,” he explains, “for this particular show I chose 30 of them.” In 2009, he presented these in a three-week exhibition in Buze, France sponsored by the French Embassy.
The piano accompaniment by Senaka – who, impressively enough, is self-taught– was an impromptu Fantasia, with irregular melodies played in complete free form. There was a benevolent and serene ambience created in the hall by whimsical touch of the piano keys parallel to smooth transitions of the images on screen. “I wanted to create an impressionistic mood – try to match it to the picture to what I was playing,” he explains.
It was intriguing to observe the range in texture of the digitally altered pieces, some mostly unedited; appearing realistic, and some being presented as abstract images with unusual colour schemes.
“I don’t have one distinct style, it changes from time to time,” Senaka rationalizes. “And much like to any artist, it comes naturally. The reason I left some more or less as they were, was because I didn’t want to mess around with them.” Some images took a minute or a day to alter, and some weeks - reworking them back and forth to his satisfaction.
“What’s interesting about Seneka is that he’s always been abstract and unconventional, even when he was in school,” says Priyan Fernando, a childhood friend who attended the event. “You don’t see this type of thing typically – improvisation in all its forms. I never expected something like this from him and I was very, very impressed.” Dr. Tilak Gooneratne said, “Senaka is very talented. It was a refreshing experience that was unforgettable, very creative, unusual, and unique.” Added Jill McDonald, “I was especially a fan of the way Seneka was almost responding to his painting with what he was playing. It was evocative, stunning – I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
And it was, indeed, an elevating experience for all in the audience who filled the hall, and bonded over refreshments that were served afterwards.