By Jonty Ralphsmith
Dandenong-based Sri-Lankan-Australian artist Shane Vandort hopes that Bunjil Place’s Nightmode Art Exhibition can be a another step towards acceptance within his family and community.
Mr Vandort’s feature piece at the exhibition will be a portrait of his father, with whom he shares a complicated relationship.
He hopes the portrait will help the pair connect.
Mr Vandort breaks the generic mould of “traditional and cultural” Sri Lankan artists by drawing people, rather than depicting mythology.
“When I draw people, I draw them without the eyes,” Mr Vandort explained.
“During my upbringing, I’ve always struggled to make eye-contact with people so when I draw a portrait, I really want the audience to look beyond the eyes because you can tell a lot from the eyes so that’s the basis of my work.”
Mr Vandort has been in portraiture for “a good 15 years”, he estimates, and had removed the pupils from his drawings in the last five years as he wants his artwork to be laced with a deeper message.
With Connection Arts Space Dandenong, Mr Vandort begun exhibiting his work in 2021.
Night Mode will take place on Thursday 7 April from 6-9pm at Bunjil Place, where you can see Mr Vandort’s work.
