Born 1972, Deniyaya, Sri Lanka
Lives and works in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Seeking to discover new possibilities for contemporary art in Sri Lanka, Pala Pothupitiye’s practice draws on both international history and local ritual. In particular, he interrogates European colonial paradigms and their legacies regarding the development and perception of the nation’s art, culture and identity.

A significant part of Pothupitiye’s practice has been dedicated to manipulating and re-appropriating cartographic devices, particularly old maps of the cities, ports and forts of Sri Lanka, including those made during the country’s Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial periods. He also actively revives and draws attention to native Sri Lankan artistic practices: his parents are artisans in the small village of Deniyaya, where he was raised — his father is a craftsman of ornate costumes and objects for healing rituals, and his mother is a practitioner of indigenous medicine and traditional reed-weaving. Pothupitiye has found platforms on which to exhibit and collaborate with his father, advocating for such practices to be considered as contemporary art.