Dambana Vedda
Sri Lanka's indigenous inhabitants, the Veddas – or Wanniya-laeto ('forest-dwellers') – preserve a direct line of descent from the island's original Neolithic community dating from at least 16,000 BC and probably far earlier according to current scientific opinion.
Through these series of photographs, I investigate the romanticized and static impression that many hold of indigenous cultures in far off lands, bound to a way of life from far off times, while trying to expose the cultural evolution that has inevitably occurred amongst these groups due to the encroachment and imposition of a modernizing outside world.
This first group of photographs examines the Dambana Vedda. They are considered the most commercially active tribe amongst the Vedda. In order to survive, they no longer rely on ancient traditions, but have found a niche acting as representations of what the Vedda tribesmen once looked like. Their income is generated from visiting school groups, tour groups and foreign media.
With the intentional use of studio lights and staged poses, my aim was to re-create the classic image we collectively hold of native cultures, fed to us by out-dated textbooks, glossy magazines, and foreign media. These photos, albeit artificial, allow us to embellish, if even for a moment, our belief that tribesmen like this perhaps do still thrive in this area. However, these are not accurate representations of the daily life of the Dambana Vedda today. These are men merely playing parts, catering to our perceptions of how things once were and could still be. They are simply serving part-time roles in something much like a living museum.
An interesting duality is thus created in these pictures: they do in fact capture what these men do to survive, however the content is intentionally misleading. The Dambana Vedda, in an attempt to adjust to the demands of modern society, have found a way to utilize their heritage as a means to make money. These photos allow the viewer to perpetuate the fantasy that these groups still live well-preserved and untouched by the modern world, while simultaneously force the question of their authenticity.
Through these series of photographs, I investigate the romanticized and static impression that many hold of indigenous cultures in far off lands, bound to a way of life from far off times, while trying to expose the cultural evolution that has inevitably occurred amongst these groups due to the encroachment and imposition of a modernizing outside world.
This first group of photographs examines the Dambana Vedda. They are considered the most commercially active tribe amongst the Vedda. In order to survive, they no longer rely on ancient traditions, but have found a niche acting as representations of what the Vedda tribesmen once looked like. Their income is generated from visiting school groups, tour groups and foreign media.
With the intentional use of studio lights and staged poses, my aim was to re-create the classic image we collectively hold of native cultures, fed to us by out-dated textbooks, glossy magazines, and foreign media. These photos, albeit artificial, allow us to embellish, if even for a moment, our belief that tribesmen like this perhaps do still thrive in this area. However, these are not accurate representations of the daily life of the Dambana Vedda today. These are men merely playing parts, catering to our perceptions of how things once were and could still be. They are simply serving part-time roles in something much like a living museum.
An interesting duality is thus created in these pictures: they do in fact capture what these men do to survive, however the content is intentionally misleading. The Dambana Vedda, in an attempt to adjust to the demands of modern society, have found a way to utilize their heritage as a means to make money. These photos allow the viewer to perpetuate the fantasy that these groups still live well-preserved and untouched by the modern world, while simultaneously force the question of their authenticity.
