Rajni Perera

Rajni Perera (born 1985) is a painter and sculptor, known for exploring how power works through the imagery of science fiction.[1] She sees in science fiction a way of combating oppression which she combines with her ideas of revolution and social reform.[1] She uses a mix of media[1] to actively engage in discussion with the viewing audience about the aesthetic treatment of gender and identity politics.

Rajni Perera
Born1985
Columbo, Sri Lanka
NationalityCanadian
EducationB.F.A. 2011 in Drawing & Painting OCAD University, Toronto (2011)
Known forPainting
AwardsYork Wilson Memorial Award, Canada Arts Council, 2019; Canada Arts Council Project Grant, 2019; Canada Arts Council Travel Grant, 2016; Ontario Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant 2013, 2015; Toronto Arts Council Individual Artists, 2018; Toronto Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant 2013, 2; Medal for Drawing and Painting, OCAD University 2011; Nora E. Vaughan Award, OCAD University 2011

Biography

Born in Sri Lanka, Perera was raised between her homeland, Australia and Canada.[2] Through British, U.S. and Japanese programming on television in Sri Lanka, she saw the animated Robotech series and the work of Hayao Miyazaki as well as American science fiction, which she viewed as military propaganda.[1] In high school, she saw her first animated science fiction magazines which introduced her to the aesthetics of science fiction.[3] While obtaining a B.F.A. in Drawing & Painting, OCAD University in Toronto, which she saw as a white settler institution, she began to challenge the canon taught at OCAD and in 2009-2010, began looking at Indian miniatures for guidance in exploring the politics of the colored body.[3] She critiqued the legacies of exoticism and ethnography through figurative work which combined elements of science fiction, fantasy and magic-realism,[4] as well as Indian miniatures.[5] Some of her later work, particularly The Traveller series (2019), reflects her view of immigrants in the future, as superior and resilient beings.[1] She researches the technology of clothing and emphasizes her painted figure`s adornment and future-wear as protective armour.[1] Dress is a powerful tool to exercise cultural resilence, she feels and adds, "I wouldn`t paint anything I wouldn`t wear in a moment".[3]

Her art has been exhibited at the Phi Fondation (Montreal, 2020); the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, 2019); Chromatic Festival (Montreal, 2019); MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina, 2019) (with Nep Sidhu);[6] the Museum of Contemporary Art (Toronto, 2018); The MAM Rio (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil); Art Metropole (Toronto, 2017); Gallery 44 (Toronto, 2017); the Art Gallery of York University (Toronto, 2017); OTA Fine Arts (Tokyo, Japan 2017); Superchief Gallery (Brooklyn, USA, 2017); the Colombo Art Biennale (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2016); The Public House of Art (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2016); Art Dubai (Dubai, UAE, 2016); Scope Basel, Scope Miami and the Art League Houston (Houston, USA, 2014); and other places.[7] She shows at Patel-Brown Gallery in Toronto, Galerie Hugues Charbonneau in Montreal, and Saskia Fernando Gallery in Colombo.[7]

She has been shown in videos discussing her work by the Phi Foundation for Contemporary Art (Montreal, 2020), in a video made by the Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, 2019) on facebook,[8] in a video by the Art Gallery of Ontario talking about her work in the collection, Fresh Air (Toronto, 2019),[7] and in a video made by CanadianArt Online, In The Studio with Rajni Perera (May 2017).[5]

In 2016, she illustrated a children`s book by Vivek Shrava, The Boy & the Bindi.

Personal life

Her distinctive artist`s way of dressing has made Vogue magazine[9] and Toronto Life.[10]

She lives and works in Toronto.

References
  1. "Rajni Perera`s Art Grapples With Power and Privilege". thekit.ca. thekit, June 25, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  2. "Rajni Perera". publichouseofart.com. Public House of Art. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  3. "Interview with Rajni Perera, July 23, 2020". fondation-phi.org. Phi Fondation for Contemporary Art. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. "Where My Ladies At: The Creative Women I Know & Their Vision for Nuit Blanche 2013". mixedbagmag.com. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  5. Shepherd, Brittany. "video: Canadian art online". canadianart.ca. Canadianart, May 17, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  6. "Rajni Perera & Nep Sidhu: Banners for New Empires". mackenzie.art. MacKenzie Art Gallery. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  7. "Talks: Art in the Spotlight: Rajni Perera". ago.ca. Art Gallery of Ontario, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  8. "Rajni Perera on Made of Honey, Gold, and Marigold". www.facebook.com. Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  9. Halbert, Mosha Lundstrom. "The Cool Girl's Guide to Toronto". www.vogue.com. Vogue, Dec. 27, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  10. Underwood, Katie. "The Firebrand". torontolife.com. Toronto Life, Oct. 22, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
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