Chudamani Clowes

b. 1966

Chudamani Clowes (b.1966, Colombo. Lives and works in London) is a multidisciplinary artist fundamentally invested in human stories; whereby she invents characters to retell a historical past and explore issues of immigration, race and diaspora today. The artist engages with post-colonial discourse, examining the British Museum’s ethnographic archives and their impact on contemporary art. Through her work Clowes reimagines the portrayal of non-Europeans in Western museums, reclaiming her family’s colonial past and addressing themes of immigration, race, and identity. Clowes’s practice serves as a translation of history, offering a post-colonial perspective that challenges traditional narratives. She engages with a wide range of mediums including ceramic, print, performance and sculpture and incorporates unconventional materials such as banana paper, survival blankets and packaging materials in order to further her commentary.