Uppalam focuses on civilians who, though not positioned directly at the frontlines, found themselves at close proximity with the battlefield during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war. From this distance, the sound of moving tanks and heavy artillery forced many to flee their homes in desperation. The work captures that atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, the haunting presence of war machinery and the trauma it inflicted—generations displaced, lives lost, and landscapes damaged.

A central reference is Aanai Iravu, or Elephant Pass—once a major military base and now a war memorial and museum. It was the site of key battles between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army. Included in the work is a preserved LTTE armoured bulldozer used in the First Battle of Elephant Pass in 1991. This bulldozer, now a museum relic, carries layered meanings: as a symbol of military history, and as a painful reminder of mutual destruction and human tragedy.

It reflects on the impact of war on ordinary people—those injured, killed, or reduced to statistics. Often, their experiences are remembered only in family homes, not by the nation. Bringing forth the perspective of those forgotten in war, the work questions why such violence occurs—and why it continues globally.