New Books Network Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, "Veins of Influence: Colonial Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in Early Photographs and Collections" (Neptune Publications, 2023)
Mar 27, 2026
Shalini Amerasinghe Ganendra, Sri Lankan-born curator and author, draws on decades of cultural programming to explore early photographs and collections from colonial Ceylon. She traces how images were made, moved, and viewed across UK and local archives. The conversation highlights overlooked Sri Lankan photography, humanizing colonial lenses, and surprising links between royal, family, and institutional collections.
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UK Collections Reveal Interconnected Colonial Networks
- Multiple previously unstudied collections (Royal Collection, Rothschild, Royal Asiatic Society, Pitt Rivers, Cambridge Commonwealth, Sri Lankan family archives) are interconnected.
- Cross-references like royal visit notations led to letters and family collections, revealing networks of collectors and sitters.
Research Gap Stems From Regional Research Biases
- Sri Lankan colonial photography has been under-studied partly because scholarly focus favored India and Africa.
- Ganendra suggests gaps reflect curatorial and academic priorities rather than absence of material, inviting new research attention.
Humanize Colonial Photographs By Asking Why They Were Made
- Ganendra reframes colonial-era photos through a humanized lens, asking why collectors photographed certain subjects and how photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron staged sitters.
- This approach contrasts heavy colonial gaze readings by focusing on photographer intent and sitter agency.
