Jagath Weerasinghe (b.1954, Sri Lanka) is pivotal to contemporary Sri Lankan art and has been a significant driving force in its development since the early 1990s. Weerasinghe’s work is marked by a frenzied, passionate expressiveness and a pervasive sense of horror and tragedy that displays an urgent concern with the human condition. His work examines and critiques Sri Lankan anxieties, responding to collective attitudes—as he identifies them, taking themes such as nationhood, religion, identity, and confrontation for commentary. Weerasinghe’s work reflects an unresolved dialogue with his subjects, as shown through recurrent themes of decapitated heads, broken stupas (dome-shaped Buddhist shrines), dead bodies, birds and dancing Shivas. Jagath Weerasinghe holds a Master of Fine Arts (1991) from the American University in Washington DC. He is the co-founder of the Theertha Collective and the moving force behind collaborations such as the Colombo Art Biennale. His work has been featured at the Matare Art Festival (2024), Khoj India (2018), Art Dubai (2018), Aicon Gallery New York (2017), Serendipity Arts Festival India (2016), Breese Little London (2014), Colombo Art Biennale (2012), Asia House London (2011), Museum fur Volkerkunde Wien Austria (2009), Singapore Art Biennale (2006), Asia Pacific Triennial (1999), Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Japan (1994). His work belongs to collections at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), USA and the Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan.