ANOMA Wijewardene A Visionary Sri Lankan Voice in Global Contemporary Art
Original article | Published: 22 Aug 2025 | By Yashmitha Sritheran, The Sun
Sri Lankan contemporary art has found a powerful, poetic voice in Anoma Wijewardene, an internationally acclaimed artist whose work spans painting, mixed media, installations, digital art, video, and even olfactory expressions.
A graduate of Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, Anoma began her creative journey as a designer, working with prestigious labels including Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren, with her designs even appearing in British Vogue. But it was her transition into full-time art that defined her as one of Sri Lanka’s most important cultural ambassadors.
From exhibiting in Sydney, London, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Maldives, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Colombo to becoming the first Sri Lankan solo artist invited to the Venice Biennale (2019), Anoma has consistently broken new ground.
Her participation in landmark shows such as Sotheby’s Hong Kong (2016) and her interdisciplinary collaborations have further cemented her place in global conversations on sustainability, inclusivity, and healing. Her deeply layered works, often evoking existential anxieties, environmental concerns, and the search for reconciliation, invite reflection on what it means to be human in an age of crisis and transformation.
In this conversation, Anoma Wijewardene opens up about her journey as an artist:
Q : As an artist from Sri Lanka, how do you see your work contributing to global conversations about unity, tolerance, and inclusivity?
I strongly believe that our diversity and inclusivity are our greatest strengths, and that our interconnectedness is our salvation. We are increasingly interdependent, and if we do not accept our differences and embrace the richness of our global community with tolerance, we will continue to wreak havoc and devastation. Empathy, compassion, and the acceptance of the stewardship we share for the planet are vital, as is the simple knowing that “You are me, and I am you.”
Perhaps our own long and destructive ethnic war, and the loss experienced by each and every one of us, has also been crucial to the longing for unity and tolerance that pervades my work. Over the last twenty years, six solo exhibitions in Colombo, London, New Delhi, and Sydney have explored these issues. I worked with the support of political analysts, thinkers, and activists, along with many collaborators, writers, musicians, actors, and dancers, who helped enhance the multimedia installations. These exhibitions included paintings on canvas and paper, digital and video art, sculpture, and installation works presented in all three national languages, fully engaging with these challenges. I am deeply grateful for the support of so many concerned individuals and human rights organizations along the way.
I often despair as the world grows ever more hostile, belligerent, and divided. Each day confronts us with the escalating atrocities in Ukraine and Gaza. As Yuval Noah Harari observed, “we are already living in the midst of the Third World War, and we just don’t know it.” Yet however dispirited I may feel, it remains vital to keep contributing to the conversation, to reach hearts and minds, even if only through art, even if my efforts sometimes feel inadequate. Silence makes us complicit. The longing for peace compels us to hope, to persist, and to engage. For me, art is the only language through which I can meaningfully join this dialogue.
Q : Your work often explores themes of conflict, coexistence, and healing. What personal experiences or reflections first inspired you to focus on these universal human struggles?
I paint my fears, my hopes, and my existential anxieties about the human condition. As such, my works are deeply felt and profoundly emotional. My personal journey has, on many levels, been both frustrating and challenging.
I have had advantages and opportunities, but they have come alongside deep personal challenges and losses. An artist’s life is a lonely and exacting road. Creativity is forged in silence. Several experiences have marked and scarred me, shadowing my work deeply. Yet I remain driven by a compulsion to find meaning, renewal, and healing.
The works are a constant adventure and exploration, always seeking revelation and truth. Each time, I must go deeper into my understanding of myself, of others, and of our world. Most importantly, I must challenge myself with the unknown and the uncomfortable, whether it be a subject matter, a theme, or a medium. Since 2002, five exhibitions have expanded on these deeply personal anxieties; ranging from the exploration of the soul’s journey in Flight (Colombo, 2004) to the urgent call for justice, women’s empowerment, and gender equality in my most recent exhibition, Reflect: Reframe: Renew (2024).
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