Sri Lankan stories unfold in two powerful Delhi exhibitions - IndulgExpress

This September, Delhi plays host to a rare cultural moment: two exhibitions that bring Sri Lankan contemporary art to the forefront in a way the city has never witnessed before. Presented by Shrine Empire at Bikaner House, these shows not only highlight the resilience of artistic voices shaped by decades of conflict but also invite viewers to reflect on how art becomes both a testimony and a tool for healing. From fabric transformed into fragile memories to bold statements on political blindness, Homes Wrapped in Cloth, Borders Raised in Flags and After Aphantasias stand as urgent reminders of art’s power to reimagine histories and borders alike..Homes Wrapped in Cloth, Borders Raised in FlagsThe language of fabricIn her solo debut, artist Hema Shironi uses cloth, embroidery, and found objects as more than mediums—they become metaphors of memory and displacement. Presented on the ground floor of Bikaner House, the exhibition draws directly from the trauma of Sri Lanka’s prolonged civil war.Symbols turned inside outFlags unravel into barbed wire, while stitched homes become delicate yet unstable structures, speaking to the fragility of safety and belonging. Shironi’s work insists that national symbols are never neutral; they hold within them the burden of histories lost and stories silenced. The act of reworking these symbols into intimate, hand-crafted pieces transforms them into sites of mourning and resilience.Viewers walking through Shironi’s exhibition encounter artworks that evoke both tenderness and unease, reminding us of the deep costs of war while holding space for empathy. For audiences in Delhi, it’s an invitation to witness how deeply personal narratives can illuminate universal struggles of memory, identity, and home..After AphantasiasSix voices, one reckoningOn the first floor of Bikaner House, six pioneering Sri Lankan artists—Anoli Perera, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Jagath Weerasinghe, Kingsley Gunatillake, Muhanned Cader, and Pala Pothupitiye—come together for After Aphantasias. This landmark group exhibition revisits the transformative artistic responses that emerged during the turbulent 1990s, when civil conflict reshaped both society and its creative output.The blindness of memoryCurated by Shrine Empire, the exhibition frames “aphantasia” as a societal condition—an inability to see or imagine—born of decades of war and silence. Through paintings, sculptures, and installations, these artists question what happens when collective memory itself is fractured. Each work resists the erasure of lived experiences, confronting political narratives with visual languages that are sharp, layered, and deeply rooted in resistance.The dialogue among these six voices is not confined to Sri Lanka; it speaks to global audiences about trauma, resilience, and the human drive to create meaning in the aftermath of violence. Together, they offer a profound meditation on memory, healing, and the possibility of imagining anew. For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels..This art exhibition in Chennai brings back the ancient arts