Hema Shironi’s ruminations on the sociopolitical landscape of her home nation are informed by her own experiences of cultural hybridity, ethnic division and family history. Her intricately crafted textiles are vehicles for social and personal commentary that belie their intimate scale as she sensitively works with processes of stitching, embroidery and appliqué and incorporates old family photographs, printed paper and vintage fabrics to reveal a palimpsest of people and stories.

Hema Shironi particularly reflects on stories of her own family, the politics around language and ethnicity and cases of inequality, protest and ideas of nationhood in Sri Lanka, while the delicate materiality of her works emphasise social fragility.