ABOUT ARTIST

Arulraj Ulaganathan (b. 1992, Haputale, Sri Lanka) is a visual artist working primarily in painting, drawing, and printmaking. Raised in the hill-country tea plantation region of Haputale, his practice is deeply informed by the lived experiences of the Malaiyaga Tamil community, particularly the histories of labour, displacement, and survival embedded within Sri Lanka’s colonial tea economy. Drawing from personal memory and intergenerational narratives, Arulraj’s work reflects on ecological scars, systemic violence, and the quiet endurance of plantation life.

Arulraj received his Bachelor of Visual Arts (First Class) from Pondicherry University, India, and completed his Master of Fine Arts in Painting (First Class with Distinction) at the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. His paintings often focus on portraits of tea plantation workers especially women using a restrained, earthy palette inspired by the colours of tea, soil, and stained labour. He frequently incorporates tea powder and natural dyes into his surfaces, allowing material itself to function as metaphor.

His work has been exhibited internationally, including The Land Sign Back at Drawing Room London (2025), George KeytFoundation & Sotheby’s Auction and Exhibition (2024) Way of the Forest at 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi, UAE – 8th Edition of Colomboscope (2024), A Life in Tea (solo exhibition, 2024), Way of the Forest at Colomboscope Arts Festival (2024), and Total Landscaping at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (2024). Earlier exhibitions include the Kochi Muziris Students’ Biennale and group shows in the UK, India, and Sri Lanka.

Alongside his studio practice, Arulraj has worked as an art educator and illustrator, and currently engages with teaching and community-based artistic initiatives across South Asia.