Late last week textile and fashion designer Amesh Wijesekera and Vidhi Todi, curator of his new exhibit ‘Homecoming’, gave me a virtual tour of Barefoot Art Gallery in Colombo. Nestled between signature Sri Lankan greenery, the gallery hosts almost 30 original experiments by the young Sri Lankan on his journey, back home.
Starting from his graduation collection, repurposed photos on canvases from previous campaigns, inspired by Sri Lankan photographer Lionel Wendt; and the stars—his unique texturing capacity with wool, fibres, dead stock cut-offs and trimmings find new meaning in this debut textile art collection.
Sri Lanka is a huge manufacturing hub for Scandinavian and Australian labels, whose dead stock, primarily wool is often left behind in the country. Wijesekera’s true alchemy comes from converting one man’s trash into his treasure. His collections are defined by upcycled knit and crochet pieces, made in collaboration with local artisans, and the Sri Lankan handloom community.
In a vibrant shade card, his works have always focused on identity, sexuality, gender and their space in the larger society. To avoid water wastage, the designer prefers to work with a sublimation (or heat press) printing technique. Disciplines that he has brought to his art as well.
Dominic Sansoni
“When your business grows, you sometimes lose the tangibility, tactile nature of your work and process.” He points to a knitted gold panel named Bloom 01; “Working on this allowed me the opportunity, freedom, and creativity to return to my original processes, to… my home ground,” Wijeskera shares.