Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige is a Sri Lankan-born artist, based in France, who’s on a mission.
After spotting looted cultural artefacts belonging to the indigenous Wanniyala-Aetto in the archives of the Museum der Kulturen Basel [Basel Museum of Cultures] and the Natural History Museum Basel, she embarked on a quest to return these valuable objects to their homeland.
Courtesy Soap Factory Films
In his illuminating debut documentary Elephants & SquirrelsExternal link, Swiss filmmaker Gregor Brändli captures her painstaking attempts to initiate a process of cultural restitution, which involves stolen works of art, ceremonial masks, the remains of people and even of animals — hence the curious film title.
Piumakshi’s frustrated efforts in Switzerland turned out to be exceptional material for a documentary. While Deneth was initially welcomed to Basel as an artist, that warm reception waned once she began to ask more pressing questions. At one point, Brändli even had to conduct interviews in Switzerland by himself, “as we hit a wall through which Deneth wasn’t allowed to pass.”
In one of the most impressive scenes from Elephants & Squirrels, the artist puts on one of the ceremonial masks hidden away in the Basel archives. It’s a powerful moment: for the first time in centuries, this act lets the spiritual dimensions of the sacred artwork flow through someone of Sri Lankan descent again.
Courtesy Soap Factory Films
