ARTISTS THENUWARA AND WEERASINGHE EXHIBITION IN LONDON

THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY

- BY TINA EDWARD GUNAWARDHANA

The Grosvenor Gallery in London presents The Persistence of Memory, an exhibition featuring recent works by Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Jagath Weerasinghe-two of Sri Lanka's most influential contemporary artists from 9-31 October 2025. Presented in association with Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, the exhibition marks the first time in many years that the two visionaries exhibit together in London, reuniting in a city that has long played a role in shaping global conversations around art, history, and identity.

Their works, created between 2021 and 2025, explore the complexities of Sri Lanka's postwar psyche, and how memory, trauma, and resistance continue to shape its political and cultural fabric. Both artists reflect on the island's turbulent journey, from the end of the civil war to the 2022 people's protest movement (Aragalaya), which demanded justice and accountability from a faltering government.

Thenuwara and Weerasinghe-both artist-activists-approach the politics of memory in contrasting yet complementary ways. While Thenuwara exposes the mechanisms of erasure and beautification that obscure truth, Weerasinghe lays bare the emotional weight of collective trauma through visceral, expressive canvases. Together, they embody the conscience of a nation still reckoning with its past.