“Working freely and furiously with different stylistic possibilities simultaneously at one given time, absorbed mostly from modernist art trend ….Her love of experimentation and the alchemistic nature in her approach made her experiment with many techniques and fuse colours on materials other than canvas and paper.” Anoli Perera & Lakisha Fernando

Swanee Jayawardene, born Suvenithi De Mel, was a pioneering Sri Lankan artist who significantly influenced the nation’s textile design landscape. Her artistic talents were nurtured by esteemed mentors such as Cora Abraham and Harry Pieris. Her association with the ’43 Group, Sri Lanka’s first modern art movement, led to her participation in international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1950, marking her as one of the country’s early female artists to gain global recognition.

She called painting her “fourth child”. Often, the subject matter of her paintings would be her children, visiting relatives, and familiar objects of her home. The clear influence of the ‘43 Group and Parisian modernism is evident in her work. Most of her pre-1970 work was mysteriously lost when given to an art dealer to organize an exhibition. She only restarted painting towards the end of the 1970s after the incident. Hence, most of the artwork of hers available today is from her later years.

Today, she is best known for her innovation in batik textiles. She innovated the technique of tie-and-dye, blending traditional methods with contemporary aesthetics. Her designs, named ‘explosion batiks’, inspired by the vibrant hues of Sri Lanka’s natural landscapes, transformed everyday textiles into wearable art, making batik accessible and fashionable. In 1968, she founded ‘Swanee,’ a boutique that became synonymous with handcrafted batik fashion in Sri Lanka.

Beyond her artistic endeavors, Swanee was a dedicated educator, teaching art at Bishop’s College in Colombo for 19 years. Her influence extended through her family, with her daughters, Manel Jagoda and Menik Neydorff, and granddaughter, Yathra Jayawardane, continuing her legacy in textile arts.