නොපෙරෙලෙන පිටු / The pages that never turn: Kingsley Gunatillake
Forthcoming exhibition
Overview
In Pages that Never Turn, Kingsley Gunatillake reimagines the book as a wounded object, its scorched and cut surfaces an embodiment of histories that resist closure. Rooted in the memory of the Burning of the Jaffna Public Library in 1981, the damaged pages speak to a chapter of history that cannot simply be turned over.
Kingsley Gunatillake completed his BFA at the University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya (1979), and a Diploma in Environmental Education from the University of Strathclyde, UK (1994). He is currently a visiting lecturer in the Faculty of Visual Arts at the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo. Gunatillake has also received two NOMA Awards from Japan (1993 and 2003), as well as the award for illustration at the Biennale Bratislava, Slovakia (1997). In 2001, he was honoured with the Bunka Award for Visual Arts for his exceptional work at the Temple of the Tooth World Heritage site in Sri Lanka.
Kingsley Gunatillake completed his BFA at the University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya (1979), and a Diploma in Environmental Education from the University of Strathclyde, UK (1994). He is currently a visiting lecturer in the Faculty of Visual Arts at the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo. Gunatillake has also received two NOMA Awards from Japan (1993 and 2003), as well as the award for illustration at the Biennale Bratislava, Slovakia (1997). In 2001, he was honoured with the Bunka Award for Visual Arts for his exceptional work at the Temple of the Tooth World Heritage site in Sri Lanka.
Gunatillake has been exhibited at Frieze Seoul, Seoul (2024); KALĀ, Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo (2024); Himi Gallery Tokyo (2023); India Art Fair, New Delhi (2020); Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi (2019); and University College Dublin, Dublin (2006). His work belongs to prestigious collections including the Presidential Collection of Contemporary Art in Sri Lanka, Colombo and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi.
