9 months ago
Sri Lankan Artists Explore Conflict and Resilience Through Diverse Media
Imagine artists from Sri Lanka are like storytellers using paintings, sculptures, and even ropes and fabrics to tell us about their country.
Many of these stories are about the difficult times, like a long conflict that happened there, and how it affected people and the environment.
They use colors like black to show sadness or broken things, and natural materials to talk about how nature communicates and heals.
Other artists use soft fabrics to talk about homes that were lost or rebuilt.
Some artists look at how their own families remember things and how growing up changes you, like how clothes wear out.
They are showing their art in different countries, and people who see it can understand because many places in the world have faced similar challenges.
These artists are not just talking about sadness; they are also showing how people can be strong, remember important things, and even find small joys in everyday life.
They are working together with people who study history and nature to imagine a better future.
There's even a big art festival happening soon in Colombo that will explore different rhythms and traditions of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan artists are gaining international recognition for works exploring conflict, resilience, and cultural memory.
Installations using natural materials and paper works by artists like Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah address 'wounded ecologies' linked to civil war.
Textile art by artists such as Hema Shironi and T. Vinoja utilizes fabric to represent personal and collective histories, displacement, and loss.
Artists like Pradeep Thalawatta and Kingsley Gunatillake employ found objects and repurposed materials to evoke memories of social and political upheaval.
Contemporary Sri Lankan art showcases a range of themes beyond conflict, including environmental justice, indigenous sovereignty, and moments of everyday joy.
- Who
- Contemporary artists from Sri Lanka.
- What
- Showcasing new works that explore themes of conflict, interdependence, memory, resilience, and cultural continuity through diverse media.
- Where
- Exhibitions and fairs across South Asia, including India (Mumbai, Delhi) and Sri Lanka (Colombo).
- When
- Recent exhibitions and ongoing projects, with a future event scheduled for January 2026.
- Why
- To share lived experiences of conflict and social issues, foster dialogue about memory and justice, and highlight the interconnectedness of regional histories and global concerns.
Focus on Trauma and Conflict
Broader Themes and Resilience
Dominant Narrative
Focus on Trauma and Conflict
Many artists primarily focus on expressing the lived experience of conflict, civil war, and its aftermath, using art to depict wounded ecologies and fractured histories.
Broader Themes and Resilience
While conflict is a significant theme, artists also explore themes of regeneration, memory, belonging, environmental justice, and moments of joy and acceptance in their work.
Interpretation of Materials
Focus on Trauma and Conflict
Materials like black, jute, coir rope, and fishing nets are used to represent fragility, porosity, and the harsh realities of war and displacement.
Broader Themes and Resilience
Everyday objects, textiles, and vibrant colors are used to symbolize resilience, connect personal and collective memories, and evoke emotions related to nature and everyday life.
Representation in Art Ecosystem
Focus on Trauma and Conflict
There's a concern that artists might be stereotyped by presenting a unidimensional narrative focused solely on conflict, potentially not reflecting the full complexity of ground reality.
Broader Themes and Resilience
Efforts are being made to ensure a broader representation, including diaspora artists, and to explore interconnected histories and cultural continuity, moving beyond just displacement.
Key facts
- Artists Featured
- Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah, Hema Shironi, Anoli Perera, Kingsley Gunatillake, Pala Pothupitye, Jagath Weerasinghe, Chathuri Nissansala, Rupaneethan Pakkiyarajah, Thilini Jinadasa, Feroze Gujral, Prasad Hettiarachchi, Rajni Perera, Pradeep Thalawatta, T. Vinoja, Siva Kajendran
- Key Themes
- Conflict, civil war, interdependence, organic communication, regeneration, memory, belonging, environmental justice, displacement, resilience, collective aspirations, personal dreams, cultural continuity.
- Prominent Exhibitions/Fairs
- Experimenter (Colaba), Art Mumbai (Mahalaxmi Racecourse), Shrine Empire, Colomboscope, Gujral Foundation, Latitude 28, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Gallery Pristine Contemporary.
- Artistic Media
- Installations, works on paper, textile art, sculpture, photography, sound art, found objects, watercolour, oil on canvas.
- Upcoming Event
- Colomboscope’s ninth edition, 'Rhythm Alliances', in Colombo from 21–31 January 2026.
Quotes
Natasha Ginwala
Artistic director, Colomboscope
“We are tuning in to rhythm to capture a certain cultural continuity within Sri Lanka, and thinking of vocabularies that pass on through song, ritual and traditional instruments. For instance, different drumming practices are prevalent in the north, east and south. The island is somehow connected through the vibrations of the drum, which allows us to think of kinship in a different way.”
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“the ground reality, which is in flux, may not always be represented by the commercial visibility of artists.”
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T. Vinoja
Art educator
“The land itself contains memory. When states and nations create borders, they divide land. This begs questions of ownership and domination. A divided landscape is always wounded; as a result people who are dis placed from it also have wounded histo ries.”
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“When I add lines, marks or dots, I am con necting the dots between the homeland and the new land that people have to con sider home. The dots are like an aerial per spective of this journey. The colour of each thread too has meaning—through them, I create broken landscapes of the country and the soul.”
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Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah
Sri Lankan artist
“At this moment, many parts of the world are embroiled in war and conflict. As a result, my own memories of violence keep repeating. I choose black for solidar ity, inviting the audience to think about the past and future together. I evoke visions of charred ecologies and humanity through the contrast of black and white. The mycelium-inspired works talk about connected memories and how everyone can heal together.”
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Radhika Hettiarachchi
Curator
“In the tactility of the green mesh, often used in construction to shield the promise of a new beginning, she frames an image of a cookie-cutter house ‘presented’ to families for the home that was taken away—an attempt at reconciliation in the aftermath of war.”
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Anahita Taneja
Director, Shrine Empire
“Internationally, art from South Asia is getting a wider platform. Important museums are interested in contemporary art from the region. We want to bridge the gap by getting emerging artists from Sri Lanka to the fore as well.”
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Feroze Gujral
Founder and director, Gujral Foundation
“These are not separate issues; they are interconnected consequences of war and its aftermath. Creating space for artists to work alongside historians, environmental researchers, and community archivists allows art to move from reflection into proposition—imagining models of shared recovery and collective futures.”
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Pradeep Thalawatta
Artist
“Every material has its own temperament and history. Sandpaper, for instance, can be used for both erasing and giving shape. Through my work, I hope to create a new dialogue between image and material.”
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