Ishani Senadhira: Material and concept need to come together. Artists have always used materials, from the Renaissance and Baroque periods onward, although materials were often treated mainly as the means of producing an image. In contemporary art, the material itself can carry the concept.
I began thinking seriously about material during the fourth year of my bachelor’s degree, when I wrote my thesis on materialism. At that time, I used a bed in my work. A bed is a deeply personal space. From birth to death, we spend a significant part of our lives there. It holds rest, illness, intimacy, dreams, and memory.
I could have represented that experience with pastel, oil, or acrylic paint. I felt the idea could be explored more powerfully through the objects themselves. I used my pillow, bedsheet and mattress, allowing them to become parts of the artwork. My study of Pop artists, including Andy Warhol, also encouraged me to consider how familiar materials could communicate an idea. For me, material is essential to the way contemporary artists give physical form to thought.
Ariya: If someone understood only one thing about your art, what would you want it to be?
Ishani Senadhira: Contemporary artists often begin with the self. A personal experience can grow into a social message. Ai Weiwei’s work is one example of how lived experience can open onto a much wider public conversation.
My own work follows a similar path. I want my personal experience to leave a mark in society. I speak about women’s power through my own perspective, although I do not want the work to feel aggressive. I am interested in soft power, particularly the power of motherhood.
Mothers build society through forms of labour and care that are often quiet or overlooked. There is an extraordinary strength in that role. I want my work to make the power of motherhood visible and to give it the recognition it deserves.
Ariya: Have digital tools or technologies become part of your artistic process?
Ishani Senadhira: Technology has become useful to many artists, including me. I sometimes use tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator to develop an idea and plan the structure of a work before producing the final piece. That is one practical use.
Technology also gives artists access to information. We can research other artists, histories, and techniques through online resources and newer tools such as Gemini. Used thoughtfully, these technologies can help an artist test an idea and develop a work.
Ariya: Is there something technology can never replace in the creative process?
Ishani Senadhira: The answer depends on the artist and on the process they choose. Painting can be combined with printmaking, and printmaking may involve technological processes. Some artists work entirely by hand, while others need technological methods to achieve a particular result. Many new techniques are developing, and each artist decides how those techniques belong within the work.
For me, the important question is how the process serves the artist’s idea. The hand and the technological tool can exist together. Their value comes from the choices the artist makes.
Ariya: Thank you so much for joining me today.
Ishani Senadhira: You are very welcome. Thank you for inviting me to be part of the conversation.
