The blue area calms; it uncovers and stills; it holds. In this work, Merinda Dias-Jayasinha invites audiences into her bedroom space; a place of dressing, a place of undressing. Born and raised in Meanjin with Sri Lankan/Australian heritage, Dias-Jayasinha is a creative artist and musician whose practice explores heartfelt and lyrical storytelling, genre-blurring compositions, and the melodic and textural potential of the voice. 

In this work, Dias-Jayasinha expands upon The grey area, a previous sound work that explored intergenerational memory and the inner turmoil that comes with living between two cultures. After the physical separation between her and her family during the pandemic and accompanying feelings of loss, Dias-Jayasinha developed a strong desire to actively preserve her family culture. In The blue area, the artist reconciles her feelings of uncertainty and cultural erasure — arriving at a place of peace and tranquillity; feeling less two halves of something, more a whole. The artist sees this feeling manifest in the colour blue.

With recorded spoken reflections on cultural heritage and erasure, familial knowledge, and the artist’s own drive to embrace her Sri Lankan/Australian identity, this work sees the artist getting ready in a saree, gifted to her by her Granna, in her bedroom. Audiences are challenged to question initial perceptions of appearances so that the safety and intimacy of a bedroom may extend out to all other spaces. The work is another step towards the artist articulating and unravelling her identity and a means to continue to understand and proudly hold her heritage.

Transcripts below

The blue area

Performance as part of Let’s Take Over 2022
Facilitated by Darebin Arts Speakeasy