I think, throughout my life I have been interested in the performatives of the society. The focus is on aspects such as movement, sound, visual, body as well as “the other” which includes the immediate participant and the broader social networks.

My initial engagement into performatives was through dancing. As a Visharadha in Bharatha Natyam and a professional in all three traditional Sri Lankan dancing styles – up-country, low country and Sabaragamuwa – I did a research on one of the main rituals of Veddhas in Sri Lanka: the “Hekama”. The performative aspects of this and other traditional rituals in Sri Lanka together with the performative attentions of traditional Sri Lankan dancing and Bharatha Natyam had brought me into performance art which has an amazing freedom of amalgamating these performative thinkings.

However, to me performance art is a world of its own, standing on its own feet, with freedoms that is not there in the other performative art forms. My very first performance Burning in Love, 2014, is a wonderful example, where I was cut loose from the restrictions of dancing traditions and limitations of ritual performances at the same time getting influenced by them.

My performances focus on the issues in society through the personal tragedies and triumphs in my life. Mine is not the biggest issue, the broader issues in society, is. But through my experience I reach what is in society.