Tale of Two Masjids
A beginner’s guide to Islamic Architecture in Serendib Like all tales – meaning stories inevitably personalized in their telling – this one too has to start with a backstory: It goes back to the memory of myself standing, at the age of nineteen, in front…
Conflict, Confluence, and Continuity
Tracing the lineage of religious architecture in Kandy The year is 1825. The second Bishop of Calcutta, Rt. Rev. Reginald Heber is visiting Kandy, the hill capital of British Ceylon, accompanied by Governor Edward Barnes for a Confirmation Service. The event takes place at the…
Temple as Museum; Religion as Art
Exploring the Tivanka Image House in Polonnaruwa The serenity of the Gal Vihara Buddhas is best experienced at dusk, when the setting sun throws a spirited glow on the gigantic granite statues. By six o’clock, the sunlight is lifted like a curtain and the night…
Island of Encounters
Wrapped in the blue waves of the Indian Ocean, dangling off a mysterious subcontinent right on to the crossroads of the East and West, Sri Lanka has been since times immemorial a land of rendezvous. Those who found their way here from different directions, found…
Mother North Rising
Natalie went on to create Mother North Rising, a visual investigation that manifested in a series of photo-essays and documentary film that give voice to the women of the north. She interviewed 10 mothers from Kilinochchi, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Jaffna and Vavuniya, examining their personal stories, juxtaposing…