Wendy Mānel de Silva

Using materials and connections which she finds evocative, she interrogates her connectedness disconnectedness with her ‘home country’ and explores the fuzzy boundaries between myth and reality. Histories are constructed and construed from many different viewpoints.

She is also interested in how an individual’s experience is affected by the behaviour and assumptions of people around them.  Hopeful that a better understanding of this underbelly might enlighten her and other interlocutors of her work.    

Her work is project based, each project starts an exploration around an idea, a family strand, or an observation about hybridity.

Qualified as an architect, she has worked in both Sri Lanka and England on many projects which have integrated both art and architecture. She enjoys and values collaborative work.   

By inviting her audience to compare their experiences and examine their heritage, beliefs and social conditioning in relation to hers, she believes that difficult and complex ideas can be more easily interrogated and understood. The most enlightening insights are often found through histories and games which are both enjoyed and shared.