
MIGRANT MEMORY [2023-2024]

MIGRANT MEMORY
Human history is shaped by migration, an age-old response to circumstances that compel movement - whether driven by hope, necessity, or survival. Migration embodies resilience, as individuals and communities navigate the duality of holding onto their roots while embracing the unfamiliar, defining evolving senses of belonging. Yet, beyond the measurable impacts of displacement, migration profoundly alters memory, identity, and personal experience.
Nikahetiya’s work examines these transformations. Drawing on his family’s migration during the Sri Lankan civil war (1980s–2009), his art reflects the deeply personal consequences of leaving one’s homeland. Early memories, such as boarding a plane and confronting an air safety card, became potent symbols - emblems of departure and the uncertain journey ahead. This tension is central to his series Brace! Brace!, which captures the delicate intersection of fear, anticipation, and adaptation.
Adapting to life in Austria introduced new cultural and linguistic challenges, yet also offered moments of connection and belonging. These experiences - anchored in relationships that bridged old and new worlds - inform his series Another Life, where associated objects, ancestral photographs, souvenirs, and tokens of pop culture become conduits for memory. They trace narratives of home, exile, and resilience, revealing the interplay of absence, longing, and continuity.
Nikahetiya’s interdisciplinary practice merges traditional craft and contemporary art. For this exhibition, he collaborated with embroidery master artisan Reyas Ali and his team in Kolkata, as well as pietra dura artisans in Agra. These partnerships materialize memory through meticulous craftsmanship, translating intimate recollections into visual form.
Migrant Memory explores how memory shapes identity, connecting past and present while navigating displacement and adaptation. Nikahetiya’s work is both a meditation on the costs and resilience inherent in migration and a celebration of the enduring bonds that carry individuals forward.
All works in collaboration with Reyas Ali embroidery, Kolkata, India.
Further read: Artist Raki Nikahetiya explores themes of migration and memories, from Sri Lanka to Austria / The Hindu

Grandmother and Aunt, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. 1948

Atthamma I
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

Kalakriti Art Gallery in collaboration with the Austrian Cultural Forum.

Attha I
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

Kandyan I
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 110CM

Kandyan III
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

Ralahami
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

Atthamma III
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

At the Beach, Sri Lanka. 1950

Colombo I
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet.
158 × 106CM

Stock im Weg
2023
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Zardozi
106 × 106CM

Thambili
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM

Warakaulle
2024
Silk Aari Hand Embroidery and Applique on Velvet
150 × 106CM
