"Monochrome Magic" photography exhibition to mark L H R Wijetunga's 100th birth anniversary

A commemorative exhibition of photographs titled "Monochrome Magic" will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre on the 28th of this month, to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the late Sri Lankan photographer L H R Wijetunga. The exhibition will run from 9.30 in the morning to 7.30 in the evening.

Wijetunga, who was born in August 1926 and passed away in January 2019, was renowned for his expertise in black and white portrait photography, capturing the daily lives and essence of the people of Sri Lanka. His photographic career spanned over fifty years, beginning in the 1950s.

He was also the first Director of the former Department of Telecommunications, appointed to that position in 1980.

At the age of 90, Wijetunga was honoured with the lifetime achievement award "Chayaroopa Abhimani" in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the art of photography in Sri Lanka. The award was conferred at the first ever State Photography Festival and Exhibition, organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs on the 19th of August 2016, under the patronage of the then President, Maithripala Sirisena.

Over the course of his career, Wijetunga regularly exhibited at the annual photographic exhibitions of the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka, and received several of the society's highest distinctions, including the Bhatt Silver, the Durrant and the Lorenz Andree Awards. He also won awards at local exhibitions conducted by UNICEF and the Tourist Board of Sri Lanka.

His work was shown in several European and Asian countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Norway, Rumania, Czechoslovakia, Japan, the United Kingdom and Pakistan. His overseas honours include a Silver Plaque at the Berlin International Photo Exhibition in 1967, and prizes from the Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre of UNESCO, ACCU, at photo contests held in Japan and by UNESCO on several occasions.

He was also the only Sri Lankan whose work was published in the French publication "Children of the World," sponsored by the Federation of Photographic Societies of France with the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique, in 1970.

In 1996, Wijetunga represented Sri Lanka as a member of the UNESCO jury for the selection of prize-winning works at the annual competition held in Tokyo for the Asia Pacific region.

In November 2002, he launched his book "Portraits of a Nation: A Photographic Essay of the People of Sri Lanka," which features compelling black and white portraits of a broad spectrum of Sri Lankan society.