National Trust of Sri Lanka with the support of the British Council in collaboration with the Department of Fine Arts , University of Jaffna showcased the photographs of Scottish Artist Edward Atkinson Hornel at the art Gallery of the Department of Fine Arts from September 11th to 20th followed by the preview on 10th September 2023.
The exhibition was curated by eminent art historian and architect Ismeth Raheem. The photographs served as an aide- memoire-source of inspiration, for the Scottish artist, Edward Atkinson Hornel. The exhibition represents the lives in colonial Ceylon in 1905 under three major themes: Pearl fisheries in Mannar, Women from Tea plantations and images of rural Sri Lanka.
To activate audience participation and give context to exhibits a series of talks and a film screening were arranged, both at the British Council- Jaffna and the University of Jaffna. On 11th Sep 2023 at 10.30 am a talk titled “The American Christian Missionary Movement: Its Role on the Development of Early Photography in Jaffna” was delivered by Ismeth Raheem, followed by a short film on Julia Margaret Cameron in Ceylon. Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar delivered a talk on “Labour, Accumulation and the Colonial Gaze” on the 12th of September. The third lecture on “Pearl Fishing and Traditional Fishing Methods in Mannar” was delivered by Dr.A. Soosai Anandan on 14th September. Mr. P.Ahilan in his talk on 15th September discussed “Hand coloured photographs in Jaffna”. The Scottish art historian and curator, Dr. Antonia Laurence-Allen delivered two lectures on “Heritage Careers and Working as a Curator/ Art Historian” and “From Camera to Canvas: E.A Hornel’s Story” on the 20th of September as the concluding event of the exhibition. Nearly 600 people viewed the exhibition and 300 people participated in the talk programmes.