Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s annual memorial exhibition ‘Meta-Real’ at Saskia Fernando Gallery

Triptych: Election Landscape, 2024, Acrylic on Canvas, 90 x 90 x 3 cm  

Foliage, Pigment Ink Pen on Paper, 21 x 30 cm  

Landscape Which Cannot be Escaped I, 2024, 

Acrylic on Canvas, 153 x 305 cm

This is Not a Still Life, Oil on Canvas, 30 x 40cm

Chandraguptha Thenuwara until 13 August will present his annual memorial exhibition ‘Meta-Real’, offering a distant contemplation of the socio-political developments of the nation since the 1980s at Saskia Fernando Gallery 41 Horton Place, Colombo 07. 

The program for the exhibition will include a series of artist walkthroughs of the exhibition. 

The exhibition held annually on 23 July commemorates the events of ‘Black July’, a series of Anti-Tamil Pogroms that took place in 1983. Acting as a bridge between the past and the present, the exhibition probes the viewer to contemplate unaddressed issues that have persisted for four decades and the implications it could have for the democratic future of the country.

Each year Chandraguptha Thenuwara exhibits a new body of work that documents and comments on the socio-political climate of present-day Sri Lanka. Encapsulated in these presentations is Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s ongoing inquiry into themes that are deeply rooted in his political activism. This year the artist’s memorial exhibitions coincide with a contentious period in the nation’s history, taking place in the months leading up to the presidential election. Recognising the importance of this moment, Thenuwara draws parallels between the ‘political dementia’ of today and the narratives that have emerged in the past during periods of political instability. 

Chandraguptha Thenuwara is renowned for an interdisciplinary practice that explores the politics of memory and violence. Thenuwara’s diverse oeuvre includes painting, drawings, installations, sculpture, public monuments, lectures, and curatorial and collaborative projects. He is the founder of the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA), an artist-run school nurturing the burgeoning Sri Lankan contemporary art scene. His work has been featured in notable exhibitions, including most recently, ‘Pop South Asia: Artistic Explorations in the Popular’ at Sharjah Art Foundation (2022), ‘Indra’s Net’ curated by Sandhini Poddar at Frieze London (2022), and ‘Notations on Time’ curated by Sandhini Poddar and Sabih Ahmed at Ishara Art Foundation (2023).

In ‘Meta Real’ Thenuwara reaches back in time to depict landscapes of destruction in the aftermath of the 1988-1989 ‘Beeshanaya’, inviting a contemplation into the trajectory of Sri Lankan history and drawing focus on the issues that continue to remain unresolved. The imagery of a cut-down tree, a blocked road, spread-out lifeless bodies and destroyed electricity wires exist within an atmosphere of stillness. Through an array of classical genres and mediums, including drawings, still-life paintings, figurative paintings and a sculptural object, Thenuwara offers perspective as well as commentary, encouraging the audience to revaluate the narratives that govern our socio-political climate and be reminded of the weight of history.

‘Visual Persuasions’ at Lionel Wendt Art Centre  

In parallel to his presentation at Saskia Fernando Gallery, Chandragupta Thenuwara will curate ‘Visual Persuasions’ at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre. The exhibition draws focus on a range of contemporary issues in the cultural zeitgeist from the perspective of a younger generation of contemporary artists. ‘Visual Persuasions’ features artwork from eight Sri Lankan contemporary artists; Shanika Wijesinghe, Fatima Awrad, Kusal Gunasekara, Kopalapillai Mathiskumar, Susiman Nirmalavasan, Kirushanathan Inkaran, Rawindu Sandaruwan and Aruna Shantha Kulathunga. 

Thenuwara will also be hosting ‘Home/Land’, a collaborative exhibition that forms part of an international partnership between researchers at the University of Exeter (HaSS Cornwall), the University of Leicester, the Museum of London Archaeology and the Arts Faculty at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The exhibition, curated by Professor T. Shanaathanan will be on display at JDA Perera Gallery in Colombo, allowing for a nuanced conversation in parallel to ‘Meta-Real’ on the effects of violence across the island. ‘Home/Land explores themes of memory, home and loss and their personal insights into the impact of war, displacement and dispossession on the people and landscapes of the Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. The exhibition will be on view at JDA Perera Gallery until 31 July.