This historical exhibition constitutes London's first-ever survey of contemporary art from Sri Lanka, and brings together a wide range of works from the forefront of a vibrant and diverse art scene.

'Serendipity,' a term coined by the 18th Century British writer, Horace Walpole, from Serendip (an early name for Sri Lanka), describes the faculty of making unexpected discoveries by pure accident. Given that contemporary Sri Lankan art is currently so little known to western audiences, it is intended that this new exhibition will bring about many unexpected discoveries and become a source of new insight into the art and history and culture of the island.

In the 1990s, Sri Lanka saw the birth of new art movements aiming to evolve beyond the legacy of early Modernist movements. Art schools promoted new methodologies and techniques, and Sri Lankan artists began experimenting with Post-Modern ideas of art-making. Not surprisingly, works dealing with the imagery and impact of war have proliferated during recent years, and to an extent pervade artistic production today. Yet, the recent peace has prompted artists to look more optimistically towards the future, and discover fresh modes of expression as they welcome in a new era for the island.

Following many years research, both in the island's major artistic centres and within the Sri Lankan diaspora in London, twelve artists have been selected to represent the broad spread of artistic production. The diversity evident in this selection invites Londoners to explore a profound artistic wealth that does much to challenge expectations of nationality in art.

The artists whose work is being exhibited are:

Sudath Abeyesekera
Pradeep Chandrasiri
Jayamini de Silva
Malathie de Silva
Wijelatha Edirisinghe
Chaminda Gamage
Kingsley Gunatillake
Tissa Ranasinghe
Sujith Rathnayake
Jagath Ravindra
Dominic Sansoni
and T. Shanaathanan

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