Veins of Influence

Description

Veins of Influence

Colonial Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in Early Photographs and Collections is a pioneering monograph that brings a rich array of early images of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) into the global discourse of photography, pairing a striking lens of visual appreciation with distinctly humanizing perspectives. In these pages, Ganendra surveys more than 450 early photographs of colonial Sri Lanka, from important collections, most of which have never been published or otherwise come into the public view, until now. Her focus on the collecting dynamic provides novel perspectives that humanize the image through the nature of their collectors and their related journeys.

Images featured are from the: Royal Collection Trust; Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford; Royal Commonwealth Society, Cambridge University Library; Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Trustees of the Rothschild Archives. In addition to these UK collections, the publication includes early photographs from important local family collections and period publications. The collections are mainly those of ‘influencers’ and the writing considers images by both studio photographers and hobbyists, for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

This seminal publication is for specialists (including scholars, collectors, curators) and general audiences. Ganendra’s unusual analysis of these collections adds another layer of understanding of the viewing and imaging of Ceylon specifically, but also offers a general approach to colonial image. This publication promises a visual journey that not only informs through the beauty of black and white imaging, but also through the dynamics of impression, considering personal influences that operate on and through these images, including through our own engagement.

ABOUT the AUTHOR

Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra’s impact on cultural development has been defined by nearly three decades of cultural programming including exhibition and scholarship, with notable focus on Sri Lanka. Through specific multi-disciplinary projects, including founding the cultural marquee the Gallery Weekend Kuala Lumpur, the Vision Culture Artist Residency Programme and the UNESCO Observatory endorsed Vision Culture Lectures, she has worked to bring into the global creative discourse, the creative practises and histories of understudied regions. She has pioneered exhibitions of and programmes on Sri Lankan art in Malaysia, the USA and UK.

Ganendra read law at Cambridge University (1987) and qualified as a Barrister and New York Attorney. She was the first Sri Lankan to be a member of the Tate Gallery (UK) Acquisitions Committee (SAAC) and has served on numerous judging panels including for the Commonwealth Arts Award and as a nominator for the Sovereign Art Prize and Aga Khan Architecture Awards. She was most recently a Chevening Fellow at Oxford and has held numerous visiting positions at the University of Oxford, including at: the History of Art Department, St. Catherine’s College and the Pitt Rivers Museum.

In ‘Veins of Influence,’ Shalini Ganendra opens an important chapter in our understanding of 19th and early 20th century photography in South Asia and globally. She explores early images of colonial Sri Lanka, developing a distinctively humanising approach that considers individual collecting and commissioning dynamics.

Her extensive archival research has enabled her to identify the individuals and families who commissioned or otherwise acquired specific groups of photographs. The originality of her approach is to emphasize the role played by ‘influencers’ as intermediary shapers and distributors of the emerging vision of the new colony.  ‘Veins of Influence’ tells this fascinating story in richly visual and elegant language that will be accessible to general and specialist audiences.

Christopher Phillips

Former Senior Curator, International Center of Photography, New York City