Painting Behind Bars

Only Five Hours More before the noose is tightened around my neck

Paintings Behind Bars

48 years ago - July 1 1971 ... 
Charles Dayananda was thrown in prison.

One of the things that the Healing of Memories Program in Sri Lanka did in March 2015 is to bring together a few people working with alternate ways of bringing healing.  Sinhala Folk Medicine and Buddhist Counselling by Ayurvedic Physician R M S G Rajaguru; Buddhist Philosophy and Methodology by Dr Sarath Chandrasekera of the Sri Lanka Buddhist Academy SIBA and Art Therapy by Charles Dayananda.  Fr Micheal Lapsley explained the Healing of Memories Workshop and a discussion on the complementary nature of alternate healing processes followed.

As luck would have it the plan to conduct a Healing of Memories (HOM) workshop for the soldiers at the Ranaviru Sevana fell through and Fr Lapsley had a couple of days to spare and the team was invited by Mr Charles Dayananda to the Giragama Teacher Training Institute for a discussion.  

Charles with Fr Micheal Lapsley SSM
at Giragama Teacher Training College

At the end of that program, over butter cake, plantains and plain tea we heard about the 30 paintings that Charles had drawn while he was in Jail for 6 years after the failed JVP insurrection in 1971.  We persuaded Mr Dayananda to show his paintings to us and the content of this blog is based on the conversations with him since he managed to evoke a keen interest in what happened 'those days' when - as a young 22 year old artist - he - along with many others who took part in the insurrection were in various jails throughout the country. His paintings depict stories of what he saw while he was incarcerated.  This blog will be written as related by Mr. Charles Dayananda and the opinions are his (unless specifically noted)

This series of 30 paintings drawn on paper (15x11 inches) using water colours were created in extremely severe conditions inside a high security prison by a prisoner. They have been hidden from the public eye for 42 years by the year 2015.  

What was 44 years ago...  a current political event is today an interesting fact of history and the time is right for these paintings and the stories and thinking behind them to come out into the open and be integrated into Sri Lankan Society.

Charles has begun drawing these in 1973 at the Bogambara Prison in Sri Lanka.  On the 1st of July 1971 he was taken into custody and being convicted after trial he was sentenced to 6 years rigorous imprisonment along with many others who participated in the insurrection. He was released in September 1977 when a new government came into power.

Charles was transferred to several prisons, namely, Welikada - Magazine- Anuradhapura and the Bogambara prison where most of his incarceration was spent. The significance of Bogambara was that it was not only the insurgents but murderers, rapists, thieves and organised robbers who all served their prison sentences together. This in itself was a very special experience. Charles Dayananda has written a book in Sinhala titled “Sipiri geyaka wasara hayak” (Six years in a Prison) outlining many of his experiences and stories around which the paintings have been drawn.

Sinhala Book published by Charles :
 "Six Years in a Prison"

Many Poets, Authors and Song writers have been imprisoned over the course of history and they have written poems, short stories, novels and even produced drama while in prison.  However, we have yet to hear about Artists who painted events around them while still serving a prison sentence. Vincent Van Gogh painted while in a mental asylum which was like a prison. He was not undergoing punishment but medical treatment. That is the reason why Charles Dayananda’s pictures have a great value not so much as ‘Works of Art’ but in terms of their humanistic and historical significance. It is not possible to replicate a collection of this nature by this artist or by any other ever again. One has to experience it – and yes people will continue to experience life in prison but it will not be exactly the same as back in 1971-1977.  It will certainly be very different. If these pictures were protected for another 100 years its value will be even greater asserts the Artist Charles Dayananda.

These were created amidst unbelievable challenges within the prison. Drawing papers and a couple of tubes of water colours were smuggled into the prison  through various illegal methods in order to draw these pictures. The fur cut off the tails of the cats that were around in the prison premises served as brushes of differing sizes when tied together on to a stick.  They had to be drawn in secret and hidden in various hiding places to protect them over the years and then when his prison term ended – they had to be secretly smuggled out of the prison as well. In 1980 these pictures were displayed once at the ‘Kala Bhavana’ in Colombo but since then they have not been seen by anyone to this day. These paintings need to be viewed with this context in mind. 

Look out for our next blog posts for stories of the paintings and more details about the public exhibition of these paintings which have been hidden for so long. 

Prison Reform

The first JVP Insurrection was in 1971 and it was unsuccessful at the eleventh hour. Most of the young people – insurgents - who were caught were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and Charles Dayananda a 22 year old artist was among them. He managed to secretly paint 30 pictures – keep them hidden – and bring them out of Jail when he was released. 

The Insurrection is now history and it is time for these paintings hidden for 42 years to be presented to society along with the fact, perceptions, thoughts and ideas that they represent.

Charles Dayananda hopes that there would be discussion on the widespread, long term transformation (see blogpost on ‘Reflections behind bars’ )

Apart from that he hopes that the integration of these paintings and what they represent would lead to conversations around what short term actions may be relevant for prisoners today.

a)     Should it not be a current need not only to throw a criminal or a political prisoner into jail but to implement a positive process where his mental and physical rehabilitation and development happens during his life inside the prison?

b)    If so, what is Society doing about it? Apart from the Government, it is also the responsibility of Civil Society to be involved in ensuring that such processes take place and conversations around these issues should be created.

c)     In order to develop the mental well being of the prisoner, training programs and discussion forums, vocational training, encouragement of aesthetic expressions should be part of their prison experience.

The exhibition should not and will not be just about “Art” but a discussion starter but deep conversations leading to concrete action to ensure that “Jail” achieves its objective of producing good citizens for Sri Lanka. 

Reflections Behind Bars

A “Live Experiential Exhibition” is being planned by a group of young professionals as a means of presenting the 30 paintings drawn by Charles Dayananda while incarcerated during 1971 an 1977 for being part of the failed JVP Insurrection.  More importantly, they want to generate  reflection and articulation on the deeper issues around the thoughts of the Artist and their relevance to us today.

The Artist Charles Dayananda himself raises several important questions around these pictures, hidden for 42 years from the public eye. He hopes that those who experience the ‘Event of the exhibition” may dwell on the following…

Beyond the gates of the Jail there exists a reality that is not seen by the outside world. 

The exhibition will be an opportunity to

1.     Experience  a little of ‘Jail’ for the first time in one’s life.

2.     Reflect on the true meaning of the now popular phrase “Prisoners are human too”

3.     To evoke a conversation beyond the simple assertion that ‘A prisoner is a criminal and he should be punished’ and look at the life of the prisoner inside the prison in a sensitive manner.

4.     Is maintaining a Prison a requirement of a civilized society? Or is it a tool that enables rulers or the ruling elite to manage society in a manner that is convenient to them. The response to this may be the simple answer that “Criminals need Prisons”. 

5.     If that is so, the question may be asked “What is a Crime”? “How and Why do crimes happen in the first place?” “Who is a Criminal”? “Is there evidence of a decrease in crime because criminals are put in prison?”? 

6.     The long term experience of every Society has been that there is no reduction or eradication of crime owing to criminals being incarcerated in prison. A discussion can be initiated on the lines of what might be the features of  a ‘prison-free’ alternative society.

7.     The idea that this can be achieved by creating awareness among the people and through value education and the development of moral behavioral patterns can emerge in this context.  

8.     If that were so…  the next obvious issue is … ‘How come moral and religious education and practice over 2000 years has not borne any fruit?’

One of the main objectives of Charles Dayananda in bring his paintings into the public view is his hope that ‘A New Social Discussion’ on whether crime might be  result of the prevailing unethical Social structure, social injustice, private property, class segregation and prejudice will be ignited in Sri Lankan society in particular.