Art Trail, Galle Literary Festival 2025: Peering into gallery of Galle Fort

Anushka Wijesinha and Nishan Perera 

French Cowboy, Body is

Tayeba Lipi, 2024, Absent

Unflinching in his examination of the trauma and horror of war, renowned contemporary artist Koralagedara Pushpakumara presents his exhibition ‘The Brutality Within’ showcasing at the Art Trail by ARTRA, Galle Literary Festival this February at the Galle Fort. 

Transforming the historic UNESCO Heritage site of the Galle Fort into a sprawling gallery of diverse art, the Art Trail which is dedicated to celebrating the rich breadth of the visual arts thriving in Sri Lanka and overseas in conjunction with the Galle Literary Festival, returns this year. Taking place across multiple charming venues seeped in historic and architectural significance from The Galle Fort Hotel to The Merchant, the Art Trail will display 6 stunning exhibitions spotlighting the works of local and international artists. This year, the program boasts an array of artistic talent established and emerging across a diverse range of disciplines, from powerfully poignant abstracts, to vibrant mosaics and an array of arresting photography exhibitions ranging from urban street, experimental to nature photography.

Pushpakumara’s four-day exhibition, opening on Day 1 of the Art Trail on Thursday, 6 February 2025, will be held at the Fort Printers on Pedlar Street. Interplaying material and metaphor in this collection of striking abstract works, Pushpakumara delves into the suffering and violence that eclipsed the nation amidst the Civil War in the 1990s. Prominent in this series is his compelling use of 2 x 2 poles as a motif for brutalisation. His contrast of subdued black and grey tones against vibrant hues of greens and purples across the works serve to disorient and shroud the viewer in the oppressing atmosphere reminiscent of the distrust and paranoia of war-time society. ‘The Brutality Within’ cuts into the writhing underbelly of trauma beneath the experiences of the Civil War, and beckons the viewer to question the capacity for violence that exists within each ordinary person. 

In a compelling series of multi-media abstracts, emerging artist Kopalapillai Mathiskumar’s contemporary exhibition ‘Riches in Ruins’ strikes an experimental cord in parallel to Pushpakumara’s works. Diverting from his previous approaches to his work, Mathiskumar’s collection of work in ‘Riches in Ruins’ displays a sharp evolution in his artistic process. Delving into the realm of mixed media, materiality becomes a fundamental aspect of this collection as the artist utilises discarded polybags, fabric scraps and materials sourced from the slums of Lucknow, India. Commenting on the society’s tendency to perceive the impoverished as living lives of desperation and pain, Mathiskumar channels his childhood in the East of Sri Lanka and observations of the slums in Lucknow in this collection to emphasise the beauty of communal bonds and the resilience of joy even through hardship. Using bright colours and a myriad of materials, his collection is a complex exploration of society’s perception of the poor, and a fresh lens upon the many intricacies and textures of life and community in the slums. ‘Riches in Ruins’ will open on Thursday, 6 February 2025 at The Charleston and will be on display for the entire course of the Festival until Sunday, 9 February 2025. 

Highlighting emerging artistic talent, the exhibit ‘Galle Fort in the Contemporary’ features a rich selection of work by the Streets of Colombo Photography Collective. Capturing the dynamic nature of the Galle Fort, this exhibition serves to present a visual narrative of the distinctive allure of its collective consciousness. Through photographs that captures the cultural iconography and symbols scattered throughout the urban landscape of the Fort, this exhibition of works highlight the historicity of the surrounding architecture, where the echoes of centuries past intertwine with the vibrant pulse of the present. The exhibition will open on Thursday, 6 February 2025 at The Merchant and will be on display for the entire course of the Festival until Sunday, 9 February 2025. 

Boasting an alluring display of Sri Lanka’s natural landscapes and wildlife, ‘Into the Mystique’ is an exhibition by Rajani Serasinghe, ARTRA’s Emerging Artist | Best of 2024. Debuting her intricate mosaic works at Art Trail, Serasinghe captures the rapture of nature in intricate detail in this collection, evoking a dreamlike reverence for the island’s flora and fauna. Crafted from glass and recycled materials, her mosaic works blends in the imaginative and the fantastical in the ordinary, capturing the myths and mysteries of the natural world. Her works will be on display from Thursday, 6 February at the Galle Fort Hotel until Sunday, 9 February 2025.

In contrast to Serasinghe’s fantastical exploration of the wild, ‘Body is…’ a joint photography exhibition by Kesara Ratnavibhushana and French Cowboy, explores the complex negotiation between the human body, mood and space. With the human form as a focal point, Ratnavibhushana and French Cowboy attempt to redefine perceptions of culture, identity and their significance in queer lives. Their curated selection of photography in this exhibition potently challenges and recasts the human body and its dynamism amidst the surrounding environment, portraying figures swathed in Selyn textile against an array of enigmatic settings, whilst celebrating the lushness and wonder of Sri Lanka’s natural landscapes.

‘The Tree Left Standing’, an exhibition of nature photography by Anushka Wijesinha and Nishan Perera is a profound exploration of humanity’s relationship with the environment. Through striking photographs, this exhibition challenges viewers to consider the unseen worth of what remains untouched in the wild. Merging artistic vision with scientific insight, it venerates the interconnectedness of all living organisms, stimulating a novel dialogue on progress—one which harmonises economic stimulus with the urgent need to conserve biodiversity. Wijesinha and Perera’s photography exhibition will be held at The Heritage Hotel in the Galle Fort, and will open on Thursday, 6 February until Sunday, 9 February 2025. 

Commencing amidst the historicity and culture of the citadel of the Galle Fort, Art Trail by ARTRA returns alongside the Galle Literary Festival this February, once again transforming the Fort into a traversable art gallery for 4 festive-filled days from 6th February to 9 February. The Art Trail is the interactive visual arts programme concurrent to the Galle Literary Festival’s Gourmet and Literary programs. Featuring a dynamic line-up of segments including Artist Walks, Meet the Artist sessions and the aforementioned series of compelling Art Exhibitions which will be open to the public for the entire duration of the Art Trail. The Art Trail will also host the launch of ARTRA Magazine’s South Asian Contemporary Art Edition 68 (2025) on Friday, 7 February at 6 p.m. The launch will include the revered featured artists of the edition Ali Kazim, Tayeba Begum Lipi and Anoli Perera, hailing from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.

Peeling back the curtain behind the curation of this year’s Art Trail, ARTRA Magazine Editor-In-Chief and Art Trail Curator Azara Jaleel said: “Art Trail 2025 is curated and composed to reflect the potency and ever evolving landscapes of Sri Lankan and South Asian Contemporary Art in formats that are both engaging and entertaining. We are delighted to have revered artists Ali Kazim (Pakistan), Tayeba Begum Lipi (Bangladesh) and Anoli Perera (Anoli Perera) whose works are part of seminal collections around the world including the Tate, Qatar Museums and Guggenheim – as part of Art Trail 2025 alongside the launch of ARTRA Magazine’s first South Asian Contemporary Art Edition featuring the works of these key artists in the region. The program in the formats of Art Exhibitions, Art Walks and Meet the Artist sessions also features the works of Koralegedara Pushpakumara, Kesara Ratnvibushana, French Cowboy alongside a those of Gihan de Chickera, political cartoonist who will discuss the impetus of satirical drawings. Moreover, ARTRA’s emerging artists Rajani Serasinghe and Kopalapillai Mathiskumar in their respective mediums of mosaic, sculpture and mixed media explore rapture and ruin whilst the photography of Anushka Wijesinha, Nishan Perera and the Streets of Colombo Collective craft and critique natural and urban landscapes framing the artistic multitudes of Art Trail 2025.”