T. Vinoja’s (b. 1991; Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka) practice is influenced by contemporary art and Tamil literature, particularly the lived experiences of the Sri Lankan War (1983- 2009). Her work explores the war-torn landscapes, social conflict, and collective memory. Rooted in textile-based practices, her weaving embodies the concept of skin—both as a physical boundary and a metaphor for land, identity, and loss. The act of weaving itself is a process of connecting lines, much like the threads of history and personal experience. These lines symbolise both the fragility and resilience of human existence. Fabric, like skin, accompanies us through life and death, serving as a second layer that records our presence and absence. Through her practice, Vinoja seeks to evoke this enduring relationship between body, land, and memory, reflecting on the marks left by war and the stories woven into our collective past.
T. Vinoja holds a BA in Fine Arts from Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of the Eastern University, Batticaloa, where she was a lecturer in the Department of Visual and Technological Arts. She completed her Masters in Art and Design Studies at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, Pakistan, in 2025. She lives and works in Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka.
Select solo and group exhibitions include Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2025-26); (Un)Layering the Future Past of South Asia: Young Artists’ Voice, Bradford District Museums & Galleries’ Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford (2026) and SOAS Gallery, London (2025); Sharjah Biennial 16 (2025); A Moving Cloak in Terrain, Experimenter - Colaba, Mumbai (2025); Contours of a Breathing Land, Colomboscope, Kilinochchi (2025); Unravel: The Power & Politics of Textiles in Art, Barbican, London and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2024-2025); Anatomy of Remembrances, Experimenter - Hindustan Road, Kolkata, India (2023); Language is Migrant, Colomboscope, Colombo, and Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi (2022); Exploring identities and histories: Looking at Ourselves, Future of Peace, Kilinochchi and Jaffna, Sri Lanka (2021); A Timeless Heritage, Tolworth Recreation Centre, Fuller’s Way North, United Kingdom (2020); Differently able, Non- Violent Living Artist Group and OBR, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi and the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka (2017-20); Expressing Post War Struggles through Painting, SVIAS, Eastern University, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka (2017), among others.