Sandatharaka Abeysinghe, 2024, Elsewhere 01

Rich folklore and rural traditions have deeply influenced Sandatharaka Abeysinghe’s practice as an artist, his work often capturing the essence of rural life amidst the relentless advance of urbanisation. His latest exhibition ‘Elsewhere’, currently on display at the Saskia Ferando Gallery, imagines a surreal realm submerged beneath water, where terrestrial flora has evolved into towering giants, creating a haven for a forgotten civilisation. Inspired by Ilya Repin’s ‘Sadko’, Sandatharaka Abeysinghe envisions an underwater world where a city engulfed by water continues to thrive in the present day, hidden from the world above.

Abeysinghe completed a Bachelors in Visual Arts from the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo in 2019. His work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at Paradise Road Galleries and JDA Perera Gallery and he has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in India, China, Italy and Bangladesh. His work has been featured in ‘Re-imagining Ceylon: Contemporary Artist in Sri Lanka’, an Imago Mundi publication by the Benetton Foundation.

In this series of works, Abeysinghe explores new visual trajectories, experimenting with oil paint to create a hyper-realistic, scintillating world brimming with tropical colours. Breaking away from conventional painting techniques, Abeysinghe freely experiments with digital technology, generative AI, and still-life drawing to conceptualise his images before bringing them to life on canvas.

Sandatharaka Abeysinghe, 2024, Foggy Day

Abeysinghe’s imagination brings to life a romanticised interpretation of Sri Lankan culture and history, situated within a world that transcends the rigid categories of modernity. Desert succulents, tropical fauna and birds of paradise coexist in a fantastical realm where different ecosystems blend into each other, uninhibited by time and geographies. Human life appears diminutive against this backdrop where megafauna and megaflora envelop the canvas. As the scale tips so does the dynamic between humanity and the natural realm as they seek symbiosis and coexistence within this underwater scape.

‘Elsewhere’ by Sandatharaka Abeysinghe opens on 24 October and will run until 14 November 2024 at Saskia Fernando Gallery, 41 Horton Place, Colombo 07.