Commenting or writing on a practicing painter s in Sri Lanka, is an impossible task. It is certainly not a thing like writing a phase on the Egypt or scribes who manipulated the canons on art and their holy snakes, because we know that they could not charm us nor can snakes bite us any more. Very specially commenting on modern art movements which have taken place at recent past is an impossible task.

In fact that the idea of modern art in Sri Lanka, was conceived in the forties, was due in part to the establishment of the 43 group and its annual exhibitions, and to a large extent as a more deep seated reasons. After that, the most of so called modern movements, which was merely a surface stimulus, to the situation of the Sri Lankan painting in general.

In sixties, after the arrival of H.A. Karunarathne, it was evidenced that the most of young painters, especially the students at Heywood, have turned themselves in to the realm of Non figurative abstract art, without any deep seated intellectual basis. Since then it was very clear that the field of painting was dominated with rather cult beliefs and monotonous practices in the means of thematic and technical aspects. In general it was a state that not an exception to the developments of nineties and more of surface stimulus to a modern art movements proper.

The significance of Sujith Rathnayake is not only in himself, if agonizing, breakaway from the monotonous cult practices of so called IAS nineties, and pursuit of personal idioms to a some extent; more, he is also a in a point of departure in many of his thematic contents, liberating its creative impulses, Among, Sujith's paintings of 2005 "cult story" has some interesting point of his departure from previous practices. In visual essaying and experience to his personal crisis I would say it is not only a self expression but rather a self immolation of odd obsessions experienced by him.

Climate of his new paintings, its metaphysical fiction marks, its restlessness and anxiety, its disillusionment and confusion as in the recent past he has experienced shocking echoes in his life situation. It is clear that most of his previous connoisseurs left him and ridiculed him. Due to mental depression he had had to refuge in the ward 9 of the mental hospital, he suffered immensely tsunami waves in the coastal town of Tangalle, not only he lost all his paintings sketches he had done over a period of three years. But as a courageous man Sujith is not left alone, he has collected many life experiences and enriched his visual literacy and pictorial vocabulary.

It is no doubt Sujith journey is not yet over and only the beginning, indeed winds blew, made through a new avenue of creativity for him. Sarath Surasena - Ward 9 (Lionel Wendt Gallery, 2005)