Chandraguptha Thenuwara was born in Galle, Sri Lanka in 1960. He holds a Master in Philosophy of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Kelaniya Colombo, Sri Lanka as well as a Master of Fine Arts with Honors of the Moscow State Art Institute where he studied painting at the Moscow State Institute, USSR between 1985-1992.

 'Medals' represents the militarization of contemporary politics in Sri Lanka. According to the artist the symbols of bravery and honour within the battlefield lose their glory when presented in an atmosphere that does not represent the titles the medals symbolise.

As domestic dreams are gutted to pave way for new, state-sanctioned skylines, we are met with the frozen laughter of imitation happy families and glassy-eyed mannequins disfigured by small acts of vandalism. As mundane violences and the weight of aspiration spitefully bear down on the bodies of the city’s occupants, we are offered glimpses into tantalising escapes through vivid, make-believe portals.

Hema Shironi is a multidisciplinary artist who now lives in Killinochchi and recently completed her MFA at Beacon House National University Lahore. Shironi’s art practice is deeply rooted in observance of the history of colonization, civil war, displacement and migration.

Hema states that her practice focuses on the human and universal aspects of the conflict. Her work is driven by the nostalgia of the numerous places she has called home and how each community belonging to those places grapples with concerns of language, culture, memory, myth, gender, and equality. The wide range of materials used in the artist's work reflects the cultural diversity experienced on her personal migratory routes. A notable element underpinning much of Hema’s work is a gridded structure that permeates her compositions. Appearing as threads and partitions, they often contain the sculptures and installations of her interdisciplinary work. National flags and religious imagery are dissected to reveal not just similar structural principles but the uncertainties that bring them together in the first place

One of the most renowned artists and art historians in Sri Lanka with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Contemporary Fine Art Practice and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Contemporary Art and Design Practice from the Faculty of Arts in the Leeds Metropolitan University through the ‘President Scholarship’ awarded by the Presidents Fund, Sri Lanka in the year 2006.

Priyantha Udagedara creates work with aesthetic appeal that from a distance, imply a subject and imagery of a paradisiacal nature. When viewed closely the intense and often disturbing nature of his subject, transforms, through collaged animal and body parts combined with splattered paint. His watercolour hybrid creature series presents the same juxtaposition of beauty and agony, depicting monster and human forms with intricate detail and colour in a continuation of his distinctive Paradise Lost series that contemplates the current political and social state of post-war Sri Lanka. Priyantha’s principal research interests lie in the field of contemporary fine art practice focusing upon South Asia. His PhD research explores the contextual analysis of the “Notion of Paradise” in its relationship to socio-political ideology within the limitations of visual art. His future research plans will build on the foundations of his PhD to further develop research in visual art practice within Sri Lanka and the region.

Gayan Prageeth combines intricate acrylic painting with fine ink drawings on rice paper, pasted on the canvas, to evolve a dynamic sharpness within his elaborate compositions. In his recent work, Prageeth furthermore explores the art of installation, with a subtle link to the ready-made, transforming manufactured steel buckets into time critical objects.

This series is a continuation of the artist’s focus on Sri Lankan politics, a trend in the local art scene since the late 80s. The attention to detail in Prageeth’s work also plays on the contrast hidden within his title ‘Extravagance’, a word that can be used in both a negative and positive context. The story behind the work connects strongly with political, governmental and social extravagance.