Artist Talk by Rajni Perera

In this free, public artist talk, Rajni Perera will speak about her work in the current Doris McCarthy Gallery exhibition Futures and provide insight into her artistic practice.

Rajni Perera was born in Sri Lanka in 1985 and lives and works in Toronto. She explores issues of hybridity, futurity, ancestorship, migrant and marginalized identities/cultures, monsters and dream worlds. These themes come together to fuel explorations within a multimedia practice that includes drawing and painting, clay, wood, lanterns, new media sculpture, textile, and most recently, synthetic taxidermy. Perera seeks to open and reveal the dynamism of the icons, beings and objects she creates by means of a subversive aesthetic that counteracts antiquated, oppressive discourse, and acts as a restorative force. Perera’s work is in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, the Sobey Foundation, and the Musée De Beaux Arts De Montréal.

Registration for this program is required. Free shuttle bus departs OCADU at 1:30 pm, returning at 4:30 pm (arriving back to OCAD by 5:30 pm), reserve your seat upon registration. If you have accommodation needs, please let us know through the registration form or contact [email protected].

This is a seated event. The Ralph Campbell Lounge is wheelchair accessible. Light refreshments will be served.

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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This program is presented in conjunction with the DMG exhibition (September 18 - December 6, 2025), organized and circulated by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Rajni Perera's paintings and sculptures draw on such diverse traditions as science fiction, Sri Lankan art, Indian miniatures, medieval armour, and South Asian textiles, gathering in all of history as she looks ahead to an uncertain future threatened by climate change and looming social inequities. Her future goddesses prevail over dystopic realms, mutating to adapt to their challenging environments. Looking to the past and to the future, and endowed with a powerful diasporic imagination, Perera is singularly equipped to express the chaotic, often frightening, and sometimes hopeful world in which we find ourselves today.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Toronto Arts Council and Canada Council for the Arts.

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Photo by Ted Belton, courtesy of Rajni Perera.

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