b. 1966, Sri Lanka
Muhanned Cader (b.1966, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Lives and works in Galle) abstracts and fragments Sri Lanka’s natural environment through his paintings, drawings, collages and accordion books. Refuting conventional framings and landscape traditions, Cader creates visual vignettes with unique shapes that are vitalised by the use of jewel-like pigments or soft layers of charcoal. While majestic, these pieces often allude to salient moments in Sri Lanka’s history. As an artist associated with the ‘90s Trend, a group who responded critically to Sri Lanka’s Civil War from 1983-2009, Cader’s images are underscored by a scepticism of colonial and post-colonial governmental policy. Alluring environments of lush trees and glistening shorelines belie a land negotiating heavy extractive activities and overdevelopment.