‘Visions beyond the frame... a passion revealed’ at Lionel Wendt Art Gallery

• Debut photographic exhibition by award winning photographer, Ravindra Ranasinghe from 19-21 June

His is a story of constant perseverance; when having submitted images for two years running to the PSSL photographic competition and exhibition, Ravi Ranasinghe’s images did not gain any recognition. But his tenacity did finally pay off. 

At the 56th International Competition and Exhibition organised by the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka, his stars changed. Not only did he win Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, (in some categories both gold and bronze medals), he also won Best of Show. This was the genesis to a passion with a lens that today has seen him conferred the prestigious title of Associate from the Federation International de L’Art Photographique, the world body of photography. 

Ravi, as he’s fondly known, pushed his lens with unbridled passion. Never to see the normal or the ordinary, Ravi has trained his eye on the extraordinary, the different and the unusual. 

“If I were to pinpoint a singular passion in life, to me it would be photography. I spoil myself with it, I indulge in it and I immerse myself in it. It is this unrelenting passion that allows my subconscious to appreciate, observe and capture, everything from the commonplace to the exotic. My lens captures vignettes that are distinct, whether in gesture, mood or even fleeting expression. Lines and shapes, designs and patterns fascinate me at other times. Once captured within the frame, it is the grammar imbibed deeply within my photography that emerges in my mind, first by convention, then by eye and then by arresting it through the play of light and shadow.” Nearly 230 colour and monochrome photographs have been nominated across 21 countries, collating Gold, Silver and Bronze medals as well as ribbons and commendations. Says Ravi, “This voyage has been one of exciting discovery with each laurel pushing me to look beyond boundaries, burning an insatiable desire in me to persist.”

His debut exhibition from 19 to 21 June at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery displays over 50 photographs he has trained his lens on over a span of a five years. ‘Visions beyond the frame... a passion revealed’ is testimony to his innate talent as the exhibited photographs showcase the most common and simplest of places and people, vignettes that only his eye may see and his lens capture. 

Says fellow photographer Mewan Perera: “(Ravi is) A photographer of whom a single photo was not accepted in an exhibition five years ago, but is suddenly among the five best photographers in the country. I have read Cinderella’s story but this is the true fairy tale.”