Sri Lanka

December–January

Domus Sri Lanka, December–January 2017
The December–January issue is wholly dedicated to Tilak Samarawickrema, architect, artist, interior designer, graphic designer and animator.

The collection of articles follows him from Sri Lanka to Italy and back again, tracing the journey of this ‘artistic rebel’, who uses traditional and cultural stimuli to create futuristic work. His work in architecture, art, interior design, graphic design and even animations are pioneering concepts that have steered Sri Lanka in a path that moves away from the traditional and vernacular.

During his childhood in Sri Lanka Tilak was immersed in the rich cultural traditions of the country, but his formative years as an artist and an architect were spent in Italy. Having inherited both cultures, he has created in Sri Lanka a pioneering and diverse art and architectural movement; one that veers from the antique and the vernacular. Though clearly influenced by ancient Sinhalese art, the Milanese Memphis Group and German Bauhaus movement, his body of work is a manifestation of the goal, “To do something different.”

Each field Samarawickrema has delved into is distinctive and different. From line drawings inspired by the Sinhalese alphabet, to tapestries that draw from Sri Lankan motifs and
colour, to crafts influenced by the daring of the artistic movements of the 1970s and 1980s as well as a minimalist and compact artistic approach; no one piece is similar. Consequently, Samarawickrema’s design identity is diversity. His artistry, even today, refuses to conform to the status quo and to his own design legacy. Throughout the years, Samarawickrema’s body of work has further expanded with the technological advancements of the present. Prime examples are his line drawings being adapted into wire sculptures and the reimagining of his tapestries through animations.

By passing down his knowledge and abstract thinking to students and craftsmen, Tilak Samarawickrema has singlehandedly created a unique Sri Lankan design movement that has showcased the skill of our country to the world.

Domus Sri Lanka, December–January 2017, cover
Domus Sri Lanka, December–January 2017, cover

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