Gayan Prageeth

ARTIST BIO

Gayan Prageeth’s work is characterised by a Sri Lankan specific iconography and bears a sensitive awareness of ongoing environmental and political issues. The combination of intricate acrylic painting with fine ink drawings on rice paper, pasted on the canvas, creates a sharp visual style through which the artist critiques the socio-political environment in Sri Lanka. He makes use of ready-made material in his installations in a subtle commentary of the ethnic divide in the country. His work illustrates the turmoil of the civil war through installation and geometric symbolism – a combination of works that demonstrate not only Sri Lanka’s ruptured history but also the current state of many countries around the world. Gayan Prageeth (b. 1980, Sri Lanka) earned a BFA in Painting from University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2009. His work has been exhibited at Art Dubai, UAE (2018), Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka( 2016), Mandala Art Gallery, Singapore (2015), and the 13th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh (2008) and his works belong to private collections in Asia and Europe.

CONCEPT

Gayan Prageeth’s dream-like vista laden with lush vegetation is a profoundly conceptual work that contemplates Sri Lanka’s political climate and issues of corruption. Created in response to the economic crisis and subsequent mass protests that challenged the ruling government, it mulls over the apathy of democracy in Sri Lanka. The haunting atmosphere engulfs the viewer, reminding them of the histories of corruption, war, ethnic conflict and disappearances, foreshadowing a bleak future.