The politics & aesthetics of Space:

Colonial Buildings in Oorkavathurai (kayts)

‘Is there a space, there is aesthetic. Is there aesthetic there is politics.’ I keep thinking about these words from my bachelor’s studies. Most of our theory classes based with these two words aesthetics & politics. Politics is different by person and the political thinking came from the selfishness. It is built up when a person or a community start to think only their purpose without any thinking about others. By my understanding I keep this definition for ‘politics’.

Recently there was a talk at the university by Brintha Kulasingam who is a temporary lecturer at the fine arts department. She submitted her reading on the Colonial building of Oorkavathurai (Kayts. Orkavathurai is the second harbor (Naturally formed) of Sri Lanka. In the Colonial period it was a very famous town which celebrated by the colonial kings.  It was very interesting the way she presented it and she very clearly argued the connection of the aesthetics and the politics through the history.

*Introduction of the place (The form and the landscape the meaning of the name, etc).

*History of the Generations who lived and ruled the place in the past, how was it famous and for what & the current situation of the place

*The buildings of the Place (The forts, churches, Hospitals, schools, homes.) & the style, period, regional influence, builders, medium, destruction and renovation.

*The political connections through the form (aesthetics) of these buildings- Tackling and rule, spread religion, addiction, profiling status, race, caste separation.

*conclusion & questions.

These are the main parts of the reading and it is not possible to write all about it because I like to keep the copyrights of the researcher. I was visited to the place in 2017 and I keep the images with me. So I decided this would be the correct moment to share the images of the place.