Nuwan Shilpa Hennayake is a psychedelic visionary artist who takes viewers on a journey through the layers, contours, colours, and visual dimensions of his artworks. Hennayake has been adding his artworks as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) including his latest collection based on the prevailing crisis in Sri Lanka. In an interview with the Daily Mirror Life, he spoke about his artworks and their contents, the concept of psychedelic visionary art, NFTs, and the role of art and creativity in the people’s struggle. 
Excerpts : 

q    Tell us about yourself.
I was born in the U.S but subsequently, I returned to Sri Lanka. I’m based in Kandy and I studied at Trinity College till my A/Ls. But I wasn’t really interested in studying and I didn’t complete A/Ls. Thereafter I did a foundation programme at ANC and then left for the University of Buffalo to study Architecture. This is where I became more familiar with art. There were creative exercises for the architecture degree and there was an interesting art store that I used to visit to purchase materials. For the first time, I picked up some materials and experimented on my own. Even though I studied art until O/Ls I never had a chance to explore its depths. I visited a lot of museums while in the States and I experimented with paint and other mixed media. Thereafter I decided to follow art and subsequently dropped out of university and returned to Sri Lanka. 

q    Let’s talk about psychedelic visionary art and the contents of your artworks.
I started drawing with a pen and my sense of work resonated with psychedelic visionary art movements. It’s a continuous exploration. Therefore it goes beyond a landscape or an abstract form of art. The content is based on my journey inwards. I see art as some kind of a quest or journey. It is where you go into an unknown realm or space and you keep exploring. It’s like an open-ended exploration. I don’t know the final outcome of my artwork. Experiments with intense travel, meditation, and psychedelic substances have been quite inspiring.

q    Have you had any exhibitions?
In 2017 I did one exhibition at the Lionel Wendt which was titled ‘Vikara and Visions’. I did another exhibition with Holomind Art which was a hand-drawn art project.

q    Your artworks cater to a niche audience. What sort of response have you had?
When I do an artwork I have no intention of communicating anything to anyone. Completing the artwork is my priority. Sometimes the artworks talk back to me. Perhaps they may be talking to other people as well. In fact, those who observe the artworks may have more to relate to them than me. How I see myself is more like a facilitator to the creative process than the creator. The artworks evolve with time and I cannot say that it is something that has been drawn according to a set theme. But the overall response has been good.

q    Let’s talk about NFTs and your collection.
Initially, I wasn’t quite serious about NFTs. Last October I came across an Iranian 3D artist who goes by the name Outpsyd. I have been in touch with him and was doing my own research on NFTs as well. Everything about NFTs happen on Twitter and I started making my own connections. I then came across the Foundation App which is an invite-only App and started crafting my artworks there. Producing artworks as NFTs not only opened up an excellent way to present my artworks but it is a knowledge pool. My first artwork was sold in February. My price was 0.4 Etherium but it was purchased at 1 Etherium. The second piece was sold for 0.3 Etherium. As time evolves I think we need to explore new dimensions as artists and although the NFT and cryptocurrency space looks clogged with a lot of technical terms it is not as complicated as it appears to be. 

q    What is your take on the role of art and creativity in the people’s struggle against the prevailing crisis in Sri Lanka?
I wasn’t concerned about what was going on until I felt the financial and emotional burden of this crisis. At one point I felt guilty. I took a step back and I realised that I too am part of the problem. As much as it’s the Rajapaksas, people too should be blamed. People are not abstract individuals. This is when I decided to do what I can. Collective incompetencies have led to the present crisis. I was inspired by the Alien Vs. Predator movies and wanted to experiment with Artificial Intelligence as well. This yielded some interesting work. From defacing the flag to humanoid figures turned into reptilian figures, skin peeled off and similar manifestations of evil were highlighted. In fact, I wanted to create a space for people to think. There’s an artist's initiative taking place. This is conscious evolution. People have gotten into the mood of a post-revolution and they are making change possible. We, therefore, need to have a pragmatic approach.

q    Future aspirations 
We are planning on a collective effort to attract international attention to our artworks. I’m also planning to get more artists on board the NFT space and educate them on the fundamentals, how to make a wallet etc and see that it expands with Sri Lankan potential. As for my creative exploitation, the journey continues. I don’t have a destination but I have a direction and that is more than enough.