INTRODUCTION
Welcome to VSA Massachusetts' Open Door Gallery, presently featuring the photography of Liz Doles, a Fulbright Artist and Teacher who traveled to Sri Lanka in 2011.
The show is titled "Sri Lanka: Pinhole Photography and Portraits" and her photography captures the long-lived and often overlooked architectural heritage of this corner of South Asia as well as the ordinary, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic people of Sri Lanka. The exhibit is comprised of 80 intimate digital photographic portraits and 15 pinhole landscape photographs on the walls of VSA Massachusetts' offices, also known as the Open Door Gallery.
The Open Door Gallery will be defined by eight areas, identified moving left to right as you enter through the double glass doors from the lobby. Upon entering, immediately to your left is a short wall containing 9 portraits that make up Portrait Group 1. This is identified as WALL 1.
To its right, facing the glass doors is WALL 2. To the right, beyond the end of that wall, WALL 3 goes straight back. The right end of WALL 3 comes to a corner, meeting a wall which goes to the right. The length of this wall is broken into two sections, the first section, designated as WALL 4 runs for 15 feet. The second section of the same wall is recessed by about 6 inches and continues on another 12 feet. This is identified as WALL 5.
To the right of that, the wall at the far end of the room is comprised of large floor to ceiling windows. This will be defined as the WINDOW area, with 4 pieces there, one to the left, one to the right facing the left one, and one on the small wall to the right. Continuing to the right of the window brings you to the OFFICE area. 1 piece is to the left by the window in the office and 3 in a row on the wall over the director's desk.
Leaving the office, back towards the double door entrance, on the left is WALL 6 - 2 pieces are to the right of the flat doors.
As you move through the exhibit, left to right, the portraits will be grouped consecutively, 1-3, and the pinhole photographs will be numbered consecutively, 1 through 15.
Some background on Liz Doles' work - While traveling the island, Doles was beguiled not only with the monuments and the myths of the powerful, but with more humble buildings and the countenance of the ordinary and the unsung. Her digital portraits show the faces of post-war Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians who quite literally rub shoulders as they strive to form a cohesive national identity in this densely populated land. These intimate portraits show Sri Lankans' legendary friendliness as well as hints of the impact of war on the country's people. Each portrait can be purchased for $125.
Doles' pinhole photographs depict Sri Lanka's rich architectural heritage, which is an unusual mix of political, royal, religious, and colonial structures from a 2,500 year history. The photographs are taken with a homemade pinhole camera made from a laundry detergent box, which captures landscapes onto film through a small opening, taking anywhere from 45 seconds to 20 minutes. Doles started using pinhole photography as an artistic outlet after acute ophthalmic thyroid disease compromised her vision. The landscapes have a dreamy, hazy quality and are often captured at unusual vantage points. In the images, the architecture at times glows with saturated color and at other times emerges from muted washes of grays. Each pinhole photograph can be purchased for $275.
To learn more about Liz Doles and her work, contact VSA Massachusetts.
WALL 1: PORTRAIT GROUP 1
9 portraits, each 11 inches tall by 14 inches wide
Digital camera
The portraits show Sri Lankans of all ages and appearances, photographed in the streets of Sri Lanka. They include a young girl wearing earrings, a man peering out of a window, a woman smiling in front of a large billboard portrait, a young Buddhist monk, and an elderly man with a grey beard and a blank stare.
WALL 2 - PINHOLE 1
Jamal Ul-Afar Mosque Courtyard
Colombo, 2011
16 x 20
From below, the courtyard of a mosque in blurred focus. Sunlight hits the mosque, and the horizontally striped walls, columns, and scalloped arches so that they glow with a saturated golden hue. The shadows of the courtyard steps and the shady interior behind the columns are olive green. At the top of the image, which cuts off just before the roof, a purple tone washes over the building. In shadow in the immediate foreground are pairs of flip flops.
WALL 2 - PINHOLE 2
Slave Island
Colombo, 2012
16 x 20
The upper half of the photograph features the outside of a long building, bathed in saturated golden light. The building features two stories of arched windows and stretches past the frame to the right. A white SUV on the road in front of it points to the right. The dark road in the foreground takes up the lower half of the photograph and shows the street intersection in front of the building. The road is black with shadow except for a wide puddle of water that reflects the arches of the bright yellow structure in the background. A corner of sidewalk and the edge of a building are visible in purple shadow to the right. A thin strip of purple and green-gray sky is seen above the building.
WALL 2 - PINHOLE 3
Jamal Ul-Afar Mosque
Colombo, 2011
Across the street, the mosque rises in the background. The facade of the mosque is in three-quarters view and positioned right of center in the slightly unfocused image. The street the mosque is on stretches diagonally to the right away from an intersection. The intricately designed mosque, with its striped columns, patterned walls, and decorative turrets, contrasts the low storefront to its left and the boxy apartment building behind it. These buildings are washed over with orange light, while the shaded magenta building in the foreground at the right hand edge casts a wide dark shadow onto the road, covering the cars parked on the street. In the lower left hand corner is a swatch of bright red and white lettering on the road.
WALL 3: Three 16 x 20 pinhole photographs
WALL 3 - PINHOLE 4
Gangarayama Temple
Colombo 2011
This pinhole photograph shows a shadowy temple which features rows of statues and pointed stone ornaments that sit like chess pieces on large steps that extend up and away from the viewer. The dark black and white image is blurry and dreamlike. The walls stretching up around the statues are light gray and ghostlike. The foreground is in shadow, with the light frame of a dark doorway interrupting the first several rows of statues.
WALL 3 - PINHOLE 5
Karamulla Temple
Negombo, 2012
A white colonial style mansion stretches up from the grass, where the camera sits. The dark shady grass fills the bottom third of the picture. In muted colors, we see the temple from the side, emphasizing the zig-zagging corners of the balconies. Columns mark the exterior of the first story, creating a covered walkway and supporting the balcony area of the second story. The third story also features a balcony area. Columns flank impressive entryways on both levels. Rounded turrets are just visible at the top of the building. To the right, a long stone staircase attached to the temple stretches from the ground to the second story and leads to a short, roof-topped tower. Behind this small tower is a palm tree.
WALL 3 - PINHOLE 6
Buddha at Horton Place and Wijera Road
Colombo, 2012
This slightly hazy image shows a white Buddha sculpture sitting cross legged with eyes closed. It is taken from the Buddha's left knee so that the viewer looks up at the seated figure, who sits facing us in three quarters view. The Buddha's right foot rests on top of his left shin and his robes, which drape across one shoulder, cover most of his legs. He wears a beaded headpiece and a serene expression, and his earlobes fall almost to his shoulders. The sculpture fills the frame but behind it we can see a large leafy green tree and part of the blue gray sky.
WALL 4 - PORTRAIT GROUP 2
36 frameless color digital photographs hung in a grid - four rows of nine photographs, all 14 inches tall, 11 inches wide.
Each photograph has a narrow white margin on either side, but not on the top and bottom.
Like the first group, the photographs are portraits of Sri Lankan citizens of all ages, appearance, and gender. Most are taken at extremely close range, so that the whole face fills the photo; in some, only parts of the subject's face are in the frame. In others, their whole head and part of their torso is visible. Each subject wears a different expression - some as if caught off guard by the photograph, some serious, and some smiling. The wall of photographs showcases the bright colors of Sri Lanka - the bright blue of a young woman's headscarf, a man's dyed orange beard, a sunny yellow wall behind a man wearing an equally yellow shirt, the green of a girl's shirt and scarf. They also convey the motion and energy of Sri Lankan life.
In contrast to the pinhole photographs, these portraits are in sharp focus, showing every line of an elderly woman's wrinkled face and allowing the viewers to gaze deeply into the eyes of a small child. Some, however, are just slightly blurred as if the subject were moving as the photo was taken, giving hints of the daily activities happening around the subjects. A man sits in a restaurant in front of a meal, a small boy presses his wide-eyed face against his mother's chest, another man wearing the orange robes of a Buddhist monk turns his head away and buries his face in his hands, and one photograph features a black and white photo portrait of a woman held up to the camera by two hands in a clothing shop.
WALL 5 - PORTRAIT GROUP 3
Another 32 color digital photographs, also hung in a grid, featuring the same dimensions. More intimate portraits of Sri Lankans of a similar range of age, gender, and expression. Color continues to shine out among the faces - a yellow parasol behind a bald man with pouted lips, the orange robes of a young monk, an elderly woman's red and gold headscarf framing her gently smiling face with deep set eyes and wide lips. Some of the women have dots of paint or jewels in the center of their foreheads. The bright sun of Sri Lanka is evident in these photographs - each portrait appears to have been taken outdoors, and many subjects use a hand, scarf, or parasol to shield their face from the glare. Across the wall, there is a mix of contemplative stares, coy smiles, hesitant gazes, and joyful smiles.
WINDOW - PINHOLE 7
Bellanvila Temple
Colombo, 2011
20 x 16
In the foreground to the right is a bright white low domed building with a large square arch at the entrance, detailed by carving and sculpture. At the top of the dome is a pointed spire. Behind the domed structure to the left is a larger building with a rectangular facade. Two carved columns flank the tall entryway to this building. The rest of the facade is just as intricately decorated as the first, with sculpture and patterned architecture rising above the entrance. In contrast to the bright buildings, which almost fade into the white sky, dark leafy branches hang over the top left corner in the foreground, out of focus.
WINDOW - PINHOLE 8
Rigivihara Temple
Kurunegala, 2012
20 x 16
From below, in soft focus, a low white building sits on a sandy surface and emerges from the immense stone cliff behind it. The building's red-orange roof hangs over its walls so that its facade, featuring a dark strip of window, is in shadow. A few stone steps to the left lead to a blue framed doorway. To the left of this, a larger stone stairway leads to another section of the temple on a higher level, with another blue doorway at the top. A thin strip of purple-tinted sky is visible at the top of the picture.
WINDOW - PINHOLE 9
Siva Subramaniya Kovil
Colombo, 2012
20x16
An ornate, golden and blue structure rises into the sky on the left. A short gray-blue fence guards the facade from the road before it, matching the exterior of the first story. Two golden statues of male figures stand on either side of the narrow blue doorway, which has two red banners on the grated door. Above the doorway, the building is crowned with masses of intricate golden sculpture. Layers and layers of shining figures, molding, and columns stretch beyond the top of the photograph in a conical shape. To the right of this is a short columnar tower of blue and gold, topped with a smaller mass of golden sculpture, and a facade of red and white vertical stripes with three golden structures resting above it, as high as the kovil's doorway. More buildings stretch down the road, which extends diagonally to the right. In shadow in the immediate right hand foreground is a motorcycle partially seen from the front, and a dark column and roof curving over the bike. The same saturated golden color of the decoration of the kovil fills the road and the sky.
OFFICE - PINHOLE 10 (by window)
Shrine
Udawella, 2012
20x16
Outside, a white shrine sits in a colorful scene. A large branch hangs over the top left corner, supporting branches of bright green leaves, which partially obscure the shrine and create patterns of dappled sunlight across the ground. Five white stairs lead to a seated statue under a decorated roof. The figure, with orange skin, is cross legged and wears a red one sleeved robe. The statue's face is hidden by the leaves in the foreground. A brightly colored patterned circle on the light blue wall behind him frames the seated figure, with a small red circle just above him. A large white roof supported by gray, square columns with golden decorative circles covers the entire shrine. There are three more visible red circles on the roof's underside, echoing the red of the statue's robe. A light blue sky, a line of green trees, and a brown pavilion are visible in the background. A gray plane cuts diagonally across the foreground.
OFFICE - PINHOLE 11 (over desk)
Kelaniya Temple
Kelaniya, 2011
16x20
In a hazy, unfocused scene, a large expanse of soft green land stretches uninterrupted across the lower half of the picture. A brownish tint rims the bottom edge, creating a rounded frame. In the center, a small, simple building emerges from the sea of green, angled just slightly away. The walls are off white and the tiled roof and scalloped molding around the bottom are brown shaded with green. The structure is one story high, with a small second level on top, about half the height and a quarter of the size of the first story, also with offwhite walls and an angled brown roof. Two narrow, barred windows are cut into the walls of the first story just below the roof. To either side of this temple are smaller, round structures with more ornate architecture, bathed in the same olive green color of the land. The larger of these structures, to the right, has a pointed roof over columns on a raised platform that is surrounded by tombstone-like structures. A fog-like wash of gray-blue floats over the top strip of the image so that the roofs and the green trees behind the buildings seem to fade into the sky above.
OFFICE - PINHOLE 12 (over desk)
Degaldoruwa Temple
Kandy, 2012
16x20
Centered in the picture several yards away, is a small white temple nestled in a landscape of dry earth, with two small brown hills dominating the left foreground. The temple sits in front of a line of green trees, with sunlight hitting its side. The structure has two parts: a square tower and a low brown-roofed rectangular section half as tall. Both parts have arches cut into them so that the background is visible through the building. A telephone pole with a streetlight and wires peeks over the tower. In the foreground, the dappled purple shadow of a tree darkens the ground. A small tree stands to the right, casting a shadow that reaches left almost to the thin trunk of a sapling on one of the hills. The sky is green-blue, with a patch of soft yellow clouds just over the temple at the horizon.
OFFICE - PINHOLE 13 (over desk)
Samabodi Temple
Polgahawela, 2011
16x20
At the base of a raised temple featuring two levels of several small dome structures with pointed tops, is a small hut. The hut's corrugated tin roof is held up by four upright sticks, with a tattered reed mat hung between them. The photograph is taken from the top of the tin roof of another hut, which is in front of and to the right of the first. From this angle, we look directly at the foot of the temple's staircase, which leads from the first level of domes to the second and is supported by columns. The whole scene is washed out with a sandy color, highlighting the streaks of dirt on the domes and reflecting the bright sun. The beige wash is broken by the background of green vegetation and a small section of blue sky in the top left corner.
WALL 6 - PINHOLE 14
Beach House
Kalpitiya, 2012
16x20
On a stretch of white sand in bright sun is a small gray-brown beach house made of thatched straw. The peaked roof, with fibers stretching nest-like into the sky, catches the light and shades the dark doorway of the house. Massive white clouds hang overhead in the blue sky, mirroring the vast white sand before the house. Two small trees behind the left of the house lean in the wind on arid grass. To the right of the house are the sticks of a short fence and a pile of dry driftwood.
WALL 6 - PINHOLE 15 (under PINHOLE 14)
House
Udawella, 2012
16x20
Seen at an angle from below, a mud hut stands on a patch of overgrown grass above a low concrete wall. Most of the scene is in shadow, but sunlight hits a patch of the side wall, illuminating the redbrown clay of the hut and part of the grass below it. The house's roof, a patchwork of sheet metal, stretches into the sky. The green palm trees behind the house are highlighted with yellow by the sun and shadowed with the same purple tint found over the hut's roof and in the dark foreground. Telephone wires and more small buildings are just visible stretching into the background to the right.
CONCLUSION
This concludes our audio described tour of "Sri Lanka: Pinhole Photography and Portraits" by Liz Doles, presented by VSA Massachusetts. To contact VSA Massachusetts please email . This exhibit was audio described by Hannah Schenk. We hope this audio tour was helpful and we look forward to your feedback.