The Memories and Masks of Sri Lanka

This art piece was inspired by my trip with Dunn School’s winter term program to Sri Lanka. I experienced so many colorful sights, flavorful foods, and intoxicating smells on my two-week-long adventure overseas. I went sightseeing and on shopping trips; walked the steps of the oldest Dutch fort in Asia; saw fin whales on a whale watching tour along the Indian Ocean; visited the American Embassy and interacted with the officials and groups of Tamils, Muslims, and Sinhalese to discuss conflict in the region; went on a river cruise through mangrove forests and interacted with crocodiles and monitors; visited the largest startup incubator in the region; took a safari through an elephant sanctuary; climbed the 6,000 steps up to Adam’s Peak (and another 6,000 down); helped at a sea turtle hatchery and held five of the world’s seven species of sea turtle in our visit. I also visited many museums, Buddhist monasteries, schools, a gem mine, a medicinal spice farm, and learned about the area’s religions and culture through masks. This vibrant, color pencil piece is a recreation of the woodwork and natural color mask making creations I saw on this trip. These masks were seen throughout our trip – from malls and tourist shopping areas to ancient museums and temples. The last place I saw these masks was a woodworking shop where they were made. We were shown how the people craft the colors on the masks with regional plants and natural resources – rather than artificial paint. They are a huge part of the Sri Lankan culture, representing stories important to their customs.

Husna Balaven is a freshman student at Dunn School