A futuristic figure wearing a long, cylindrical orange mask and patterned clothes looks towards the left of the painting against a backdrop of colourful swirls.
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Credit: Rajni Perera, Storm (detail), 2020, mixed media on marbled paper, 76.2 × 61 cm, James McKellar. Photo courtesy of Patel Brown © Rajni Perera.

Rajni Perera: Futures

Through painting, sculpture, and photography, Rajni Perera expresses her vision of imagined futures in which mutated subjects exist in dystopian realms. 

Date & time

-

Address

Surrey Art Gallery - 13750 88 Ave

Perera draws deeply on the artistic traditions of Sri Lanka, her childhood home. Indian miniature painting, medieval armour, South Asian textiles, and science fiction also factor into her body of work that spans feminist and diasporic narratives while contemplating survival in an environmentally degraded future.

Her work responds to existential threats with creativity and invention, offering a vision charged with humour and sharp critique, hope and dread. Looking to the past and to the future, and endowed with a powerful imagination, Perera is singularly equipped to express the increasingly chaotic, often frightening, and sometimes hopeful world in which we find ourselves today.

Futures includes nearly thirty works from various stages of the artist’s career. Through the manifestation of various mediums from functional sculptures to intricate paintings, Perera looks ahead to uncertain times threatened by climate change and looming social inequities. Her future goddesses and inventive armours prevail over dystopic realms, mutating to adapt to challenging environments.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. It is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue featuring an interview with the artist by guest curator Sarah Milroy, as well as essays by leading international literary figures Fariha Roisin and Britt Wray. Surrey Art Gallery is the only West Coast stop on the tour.

Curator: Sarah Milroy
Origin of Exhibition: McMichael Canadian Art Collection

A futuristic figure wearing a long, cylindrical orange mask and patterned clothes looks towards the left of the painting against a backdrop of colourful swirls.

Rajni Perera, Storm, 2020, mixed media on marbled paper, 76.2 × 61 cm, James McKellar. Photo courtesy of Patel Brown © Rajni Perera.

A futuristic figure in elaborate pattern costume stands in an orange foreground with their back to the viewer. There is blue and white sky.

Rajni Perera, Peaceful Cobra, 2019, mixed media on paper, David Heden.
Alongside of image: Photo courtesy of the artist and Patel Brown © Rajni Perera.

A clay hand painted red stands on a white plinth in a white room wearing several bracelets. A long pointed stick is attached to the index finger.

Rajni Perera, Revenge 3, 2019, polymer clay, aluminum, paint, leather, lace, Ring for Truth (solid cast bronze wearable unit). Photo courtesy of the artist and Patel Brown © Rajni Perera.

A silhouetted figure kneels with a blue diamond encircled by red on its stomach. On the head is a large trapezoidal headpiece.

Rajni Perera, Dancer 2, 2018, mixed media on millboard, Ivan Lin and Jeff King. Photo courtesy of the artist and Patel Brown © Rajni Perera.