Hema Shironi Sri Lanka, b. 1991
In Search of Kambali II, 2025
Collage and Hand Stiching on Quilt
165 x 142 cm
65 x 55 7/8 in
65 x 55 7/8 in
Copyright The Artist
'In Search of Kambali' by Hema Shironi reflects on the histories and lived experiences of the Malaiyaga community, who arrived in Sri Lanka as indentured labourers to work on tea...
'In Search of Kambali' by Hema Shironi reflects on the histories and lived experiences of the Malaiyaga community, who arrived in Sri Lanka as indentured labourers to work on tea plantations during imperial rule. The kambli was both utilitarian and symbolic: a blanket that offered warmth and protection against the cold, rain, and harsh estate conditions, while also serving as an object of continuity, often handed down through generations.
In this body of work, Shironi reclaims the kambli as both material and metaphor. Working directly onto the quilted surface, she embeds images of plantation workers, tea estates, and factories transforming the fabric into an archive of memory turning it into a site to examine identity, histories of labour, and questions of belonging.