Reimagining Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war – with fabric, superheroes and copper soldiers

“Aphantasia” describes a condition in which one is unable to create mental images: the imagination has no visual register – it is blank.

The exhibition titled After-Aphantasias at Delhi’s Bikaner House is an attempt by six Sri Lankan artists to craft a different imagination of the conflict that tore apart the island nation for nearly 25 years.

Sri Lanka’s civil war is often remembered through the language of politics and military strategy. But art has the power to shift the focus to personal experiences, loss and remembering. After-Aphantasias is an artistic expression of grappling with the ramifications of the conflict, and a search for clarity that aims to challenge “dominant narratives”.

These artistic interventions are significant once one grasps the roots of the conflict.

There had been long-standing tensions between Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority. The Sinhala Only Act of 1956, which made Sinhala the sole official language, became a major flashpoint for discriminating against Tamil identity, culture and livelihoods. A Tamil militancy rose on the back of grievances among the Tamil minority, fueled by communal divisions and discriminatory policies.

In July 1983, in a major escalation, members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ambushed an army patrol. An anti-Tamil pogrom, known as Black July, led to a massive exodus of Tamils....

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