Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah was born in 1989, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
He lives and works in Chicago, USA
He completed his Bachelor in Fine Arts & Design from the University of Jaffna (2014). Pushpakanthan received the prestigious South Asia Studies Fellowship at Cornell University in 2018. More recently, he has been awarded a Visiting Fellowship at the University of Essex (forthcoming) where he is going to engage further with the ESCALA collection.
Pushpakanthan’s drawings, paintings, digital prints, videos, and installations reflect the painful and often silenced legacies of Sri Lanka’s lengthy civil war while also tackling globalisation's dark sides: racism, populism, inequality, and ecocide. He has exhibited widely, including in the US, the UK, Canada, Iran, India, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.
Education:
2014. Bachelor of Fine Arts (Art & Design), University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Solo exhibitions:
2019. Wounded Landscapes, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka
2018. The Disappearance of Disappearances, History of Art Gallery, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
2017. Disappearance, Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka
2016. Inequality, Paradise Road Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Two-man show:
2018. When Memory Lives. Artscape Youngplace, Conducted by the York Centre for Asian Research, English, History, and Humanities Departments, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (York University), Toronto, Canada
2018. Living on the Margins. Brunei Gallery (UK), Park Gallery (Nepal), Sapumal Modern Art Museum, Sri Lanka, PositiveNegative Ltd. & SOAS University of London, UK
Group Exhibitions:
2021. Love Thy Neighbour. Asia Triennial Manchester 2021, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
2021. SAF {Virtual} - Future Landing. Serendipity Arts Festival, India
2020. ART IN CURFEW. Saskia Fernando Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2019. Look, Stranger!. Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, India
2019. Five. Baik Art Gallery. Los Angeles, USA
2019. A cross-section. Jaleh Gallery. Tehran, Iran
2019: Crossing Place, Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka (Incorporated with LACMA’s exhibition The Jeweled Isle). Baik Art Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2018. Embodying Power. Sapumal Modern Art Museum. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2017. Human Rights Arts Festival. JDA Perera Gallery, Visual and Performing Arts University, Colombo, Sri Lanka
2016. Young Subcontinent. Serendipity Arts Festival. Goa, India
2016. Conceiving Space. Colombo Art Biennale. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2016. Liminal Space: Reconfiguring Identity and Space through Contemporary Art. JDA Perera Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2016. Truth to Truth: Visual Art exhibition about transitional justice. Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts. (VAFA). Colombo, Sri Lanka
2016. C/A/M/P - Contemporary Artists' Meeting Point. Lionel Wendt Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2015. Shadow Scenes. Colomboscope. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2015. Seven Conversations. Saskia Fernando Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka
2013. Open edit Mobile library. Park Street Mews, Colombo, Conducted by Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong and Raking Leaves, Sri Lanka
2013. The SAARC Artist Camp and Exhibition of Paintings. National Art Gallery. Male, Maldives
