MURUGIAH, creator of artwork Rangoli Mirrored Cosmos at River of Light 2024.
MURUGIAH is a multi-disciplinary British Sri Lankan artist, illustrator and designer working in London. Using a colourfully surreal visual aesthetic he playfully explores the macabre, bittersweet and joyful experience of his daily life and identity. Infused with candy coated dreams and peppered with South Asian motifs, his work – encompassing film, architecture, art & design – resonates with those also seeking kindness, authenticity & compassion.
In 2023, MURUGIAH introduced Rangoli Mirrored Cosmos, a public art light sculpture located at the Greenwich Peninsula Installed as part of the London Design Festival also celebrating Diwali. The 3D sculpture also featured large interactive floor graphics at specific slots. These invited the public to tap into their creativity by allowing them to use chalk to colour in their own Rangoli mandala. A fusion of “interaction, play and joy”, the sculpture combined his architectural training and happy, psychedelic graphic style.
Engaging with the public on a human scale is very important to MURUGIAH. As a fun activity for The Big Draw festival, he ran a Rangoli making workshop where we explored the meanings behind Rangoli through art making.
Also in 2023, he was commissioned to make the artwork for Refugee Week 2023. He ran workshops with young refugees from Compas Collective on the theme of compassion. The workshops involved expressing experiences and drawing what compassion meant to each of the participants on a large roll of paper. He then translated these drawings and ideas into elements which were then composed to form the main artwork for the campaign. These were turned into posters and sent around the UK. MURUGIAH was then invited to turn the artwork into a window installation at the Royal Festival Hall in Southwark and an animation playing at the Pyrymid stage at Glastonbury festival 2023 throughout the day, including right before Elton John’s Headline slot in front of 100,00 festival attendees!
In 2024, MURUGIAH took part in a group show at the Young V&A entitled Lost & Found Yōkai, Japan: Myths to Manga where he playfully created a Yōkai spirit sculpture made from umbrellas donated from TFL’s lost and found department.
Connect with MURUGIAH:
Instagram @_murugiah
Threads @_murugiah
X @Murugiah_
Facebook Murugiah Art
https://murugiah.com
