Photographs by Nihal Fernando and Luxhman Nadaraja

by Dr. SinhaRaja
Tammita-Delogoda
Eloquence in Stone is a story in stone. Using the lens of the camera it tells the tale of Sri Lanka‘s stone heritage through the ages. It is a strange, sometimes amazing saga about a small people on a small island in a corner of Asia. These people are heirs to one of the oldes,. living cultures in the world still speak the same language and practice the same religion as their ancestors did 2,500 years ago. Eloquence in Stone is the story of their art and their craft their architecture, their sculpture and their painting.

It is a tale which begins before the dawn of history, with mysterious drawing on stone and caves carved out of rock. This shadowy, mythic world was transformed in the 3rd century BC by the arrival of Buddhism. A faith which "burned like fire in the minds of men", it seeped into the very pores of the country, becoming the bedrock of a unique and brilliant civilisation.

This civilisation reached its peak between 500 BC and 600 AC. Amidst the plains of Ruhuna and the Raja Rata the ancient Sinhalese built up a vast network of canals, dams and giant reservoirs which irrigated the parched landscape. Water was the secret of this culture and its lifeblood. Working in harmony with their environment, the ancients fostered, perceived and harnessed every drop of water. This provided the wherewithal for a rich and refined world, a Golden Age of splendour and classical beauty. The enduring symbols of this country, the Bo tree, the dagaba, the Buddha statue and the moonstone all have their origins in this period.

It is a saga which journeys through the two and half millennia of Sri Lanka’s history. It tells a tale of destruction and downfall, regeneration, decline and inexorable decay. As it unfolds we move from the age of stone to the age of wood and finally to the era of concrete, glass and steel. A voyage through Sri Lanka as it was and as it’s, it seeks to inquire, to inspire and to appreciate. An image of ourselves, it muses on our past, our present and perhaps our future. This is why we have called it "The Lithic Saga of Sri Lanka."

Many people still see photography as a technical art. To them the camera is an artificial thing which controls the environment at will. A work of manipulation, it gives you the world at a click. The reality however, is very different. A photographer is totally dependent on the light and the background, at times he is almost a processor of the elements. His art is also a very fluid one, constantly changing from moment to moment. He may use the same camera to take the same picture, but it will never be the same.

The most important element of all is the light. The nature of the light can determine the whole photograph, enabling us to see different things at different times of day. In the early morning the light is soft and gentle. However, as the sun rises higher and higher it becomes hard and cold, leaving the image flat and dead. Then again in the late afternoon and early evening it becomes soft and warm once more.

Seen through the eyes of the photographer stone becomes a living thing with a story of its own. Always changing, it seems different every time you look. Sometimes its shape and texture is altered by wind and water. Sometimes its appearance is changed by nature, turning it green with moss or reddish brown with decay. However, light is what brings it to life and it is through the glimmerings of light that we perceive stone.

It is here that the key to our story lise. The direction and change of light is fundamental to the photographer’s art. The play of light, when and how it falls, makes stone talk and come live. It draws out every nuance, giving feeling and bringing depth and colour. This is the meaning of Eloquence in Stone.