Asmar Atham's (b. 1989, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Lives & works in Batticaloa) works engages with the paddy field as a living archive, and the artist transforms observations of labour, memory, and survival into a visual meditation on ecological and social continuity. His work reflects the precarity of seasonal cycles and the delicate systems that sustain human and non human life alike. In contrast to war centred readings often applied to artists from the eastern region, his practice treats land as a site of cultivation and ritual care. Using acrylic on paper, he constructs narrative sequences where rice operates as a connective scroll, and elephant tusks, husks, and trunks appear as recurring symbols. A dominant red ground unifies the imagery, producing an embroidered, illustrative surface that evokes continuity and collective memory.
Atham began his artistic journey after receiving a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which enabled him to pursue his studies in India. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, followed by a Master of Visual Arts in Painting from the Government College of Art & Craft, University of Calcutta. During his postgraduate studies, he was awarded the prestigious Kisory Roy Award for excellence in painting.
His work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions, biennales, and artist residency programmes across Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh, including the Kochi-Muziris Student Biennale, the Surajkund International Crafts Mela, and the Crack International Art Camp in Bangladesh. Atham currently serves as a Lecturer in the Department of Visual & Technological Arts at the Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University, Sri Lanka.