Multi-faceted Sri Lankan artist Indika Wijewardana is set to embark on his latest artistic odyssey by attending World Art Dubai, held from 17th to 20th April 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. As the region’s largest contemporary retail art fair, the event features over 10,000 artworks from more than 400 renowned galleries and solo artists representing over 65 countries. Indika plans to immerse himself in this vibrant international showcase, connecting with fellow artists and collectors while drawing inspiration for his upcoming work. His visit to Dubai comes after his most recent fine art solo exhibition, THE PROWL, held in 2023 at Nolia’s Gallery in London.
Indika is planning several international art tours this year, with World Art Dubai being his first stop. This choice holds special significance, as Dubai has played a meaningful role in his artistic journey—a story of evolution, dedication, and cultural integration. Over the years, his work, deeply rooted in storytelling through art, has gained recognition within Dubai’s thriving art community. This upcoming visit symbolizes an artistic homecoming to the city that helped shape his international career.
Born in Kurunegala in 1986, Indika Wijewardana’s journey has been a vibrant tapestry of roles; an interior designer, statistician, marketer, photographer, travel guide and explorer. Amidst this diverse path, he found his true calling as an artist. As a child, Indika admired his father’s artistic flair but never imagined it could become his vocation and therefore chose mathematics with the hope of one day becoming an engineer before pivoting to pursue a BSc in Maths & Statistics degree at the University of Colombo. Uninspired by his studies, he increasingly devoted more time to nurture his artistic talents and built a name for his relentless pursuit of opportunities in this field. This led to designing interiors for state events, drawing portraits for world famous composer Yanni and revered Pope Francis and holding his first-ever exhibition immediately after completing his university life. Soon after graduating Indika found employment as a guide and photographer at an adventure retreat which allowed him to connect with people from around the world, find solace in art amidst life’s complexities and also inspired him through diverse wildlife encounters. Indika displayed his works to the public for the first time through the “Passion” exhibition in 2012 while his wildlife experience inspired him to create the acclaimed wildlife portrait series ‘Whiskers’ in 2013. His very first international exhibition titled “The Winning Post” was held in Dubai in October 2017 and showcased 22 pieces of his finest works. He followed this up with “Whiskers 2019” in Colombo where he showcased his expanding artistic repertoire by unveiling a collection of mixed medium abstract human figures on canvas.
Some of Indika’s high profile projects include the portrait of Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan as a birthday gift, portrait of Sheikha Mariam and a family portrait for Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain; collaboration with Ahmad Bin Eisa Alserkal, Chairman of Alserkal Group; first international art exhibition in Dubai, “The Winning Post” at the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre in 2017, as well as artworks for Atlantis Hotel, a collection for Zulekha Hospital, and contributions to The Emirates Mall in Abu Dhabi. Indika’s portfolio demonstrates his artistic journey and contains pencil sketches, figurative abstraction and pop art explorations. Currently, he resides in Sri Lanka and works as a freelance artist and designer.
