I’m Lojithan Ram, a Sri Lankan artist and photographer working across multidisciplinary art practices, including sculpture, mixed media works, printing, archival practices, documentaries, and collaborative projects. Based between Colombo and Batticaloa.
BIO
Parilojithan Ramanathan, also known as Lojithan Ram (b. 1993, Batticaloa), is a multidisciplinary artist from Batticaloa and based in Colombo, exploring ideas of non-belonging and memory primarily through lens-based mediums and alternative printing processes. Ramanathan is a graduate of Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna and the founder of Mount Studio & Analogue Film Lab, Batticaloa Photo History Archive and co-founder of We Are From Here project, His work has been exhibited locally and globally such as at the SFG Colombo, Barefoot Colombo, Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival, Chennai Photo Biennale, Dhaka Art Summit, Kochi Muziris Biennale, Colomboscope also in Berlin in 2025. Ram is a grantee of the prestigious Prince Claus Seed Fund Award (2023), and A4A Production Fund (2022), and the current artist resident at the Cité des Arts International, Paris 2026, also had his show recently at Cité des Arts International.
RAMANATHAN PARILOJITHAN
Born 1993
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Art and Design; Specialised in painting - Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka (2014-2018)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
“Pas comme à la maison”, Open Studio à Cité des arts international, 18, rue de l'Hôtel de Ville 75004 Paris, France. 27.05.2026
“Aṟṟa Kuḷamum, Koṭṭiyum, Āmpalum”, at Paradise Road, Saskia Fernando Gallery, 41 Horton Place, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka. (23rd May – 23rd June 2025)
“COLOMBOLLAGE”, an exhibition of Photo collage at Alliance Françoise De Jaffna, Nallur, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. (31 Mar 2019).
“NOSTALGIA”, an exhibition of visual arts at Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. (01 Dec 2018).
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Semi-Autobiographical, Group show at the Ceylon Literary and Arts Festival 2025, 16 19 January 2025, Colombo, Sri Lanka
“Many Roads Through Paradise” at Barefoot gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka (03 Oct – 02 Nov 2024)
Shared Tides Residency showcase and Panel Discussion moderated by Sarker Protick (Guest Curator of the eighth edition of Colomboscope), 21 January 2024. Goethe Institute Sri Lanka. Part of Colomboscope 2024
Shared Tides Residency showcase, 02-12 DEC 2023 Chennai, India
“People’s Voice is Louder” Film Screening followed by a Panel discussion at the Goethe Institute Sri Lanka (9.07.2023)
“People's Voice is Louder”, an exhibition of photographs (17 June-02 July 2023) at Alliance Française de Madras, India
Ahmedabad National Photography Festival (06-09 April 2023) Navajivan Trust Campus, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India “People’s Voice is Louder” Film Screening followed by an Online Panel discussion (09.04.2023)
Humanity & Earth: an exhibition of photographs (19 March – 4 April 2023) at KÄLAM, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Dhaka Art Submit curated by Diana Campbell (Artistic Director, Samdani Art Foundation) (3-11 Feb 2023)” Ashray” an Initiative by WEAREFROMHERE project.
A4A Group show at Saskia Fernando gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka (19 Jan – 11 Feb 2023)
Kochi Muziris Biennale (23 Dec 2022 – 10 Apr 2023) Kochi, Kerala, India. “People’s Voice is Louder” Film Screening followed by a Panel discussion at the Cabal Yard Kochi (19.02.2023)
“Animate her” an exhibition and screening of animation films and puppets at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka (6,7 Aug 2022)
Language is migrant (20-30 January 2022), COLOMBOSCOPE 2022 edition; curated by Anushka Rajendran and Natasha Ginwala, ”Ashray” an Initiative by WEAREFROMHERE project
Humanity & Earth, an exhibition of photographs (4 Sept –13 Sept 2020) at Harold Perris Gallery, Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo
ÉCLAIR OPEN STUDIO, an exhibition of photographs on 1 Feb 2020 at Theertha International Artists’ Collective, Colombo
Batticaloa plastic pollution photography competition and exhibition (13 Apr 2019) Batticaloa competition winner
An Exhibition of visual art (22 Mar – 23 Mar 2019) Theological College of Lanka, Pilimathalawa, Kandy
SEVEN ARTISTS, An Exhibition of visual arts (06 Mar - 06 Apr 2019) Cargill’s Square, Jaffna
Kochi Muziris Student Biennale (10 Dec 2018 - Mar 2019) Kochi, Kerala, India
PERMUTATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES (24 - 27 Dec 2018) Photography exhibition / Theertha International Artists’ Collective, Colombo
RE/EVOLUTION (2 - 7 Sep 2017) Participated as an artist for Cinnamon Colomboscope 2017, curated by Menika Van Der Poorten. “Motherland” is a collaborative installation work
SHARING II, An exhibition of photographs from 8th March – 08th April 2017 at Suriyakantha Centre for Art and Culture, Handessa, Kandy.
SHARING I, an exhibition of photographs from 29th – 31st July, 2016 at Sanmarka United Youth Club, Community Centre, Jaffna
TALENTS OF BATTICALOA (31 Oct -1 Nov 2015) Exhibition of photographs / Magajana collage hall, Batticaloa
AWARDS, RESIDENCIES AND PARTICIPATION
Artist residency at Cité des arts international, 18, rue de l'Hôtel de Ville 75004 Paris, France 04 April - 03 July 2026
. Micro Art Residency at the künstlerhaus bethanien, Berlin, Germany, 12 July -27 July 2025.
Prince Clause seed fund award 2023.
"Shared Tides" Artist Residency – Chennai Photo Biennale in collaboration with Kalam Jaffna, supported by the Goethe Institute Chennai and Sri Lanka, 2023.
A4A fund award - Udayshanth Fernando Foundation in association with Saskia Fernando Gallery 2022/2023
Zine making Residential workshop - 3 weekends between March - June 2024, Organised by Packet 2024, Sri Lanka
“Presenter Speaker” at the Prince Claus Fund Biennale symposium 2023, Sri Lanka
Documentary Photographer of the ‘Animate her' series of Animation films by Irushi Tennakoon 2022
Team member of the 7th edition of COLOMBOSCOPE Art Festival, Language as Migrant 2022, for the Photo documentation.
RE–Tooling (19–21 Oct 2019) 3-day Artist residential workshop/Organised by Colomboscope in partnership with Goethe-Institute Sri Lanka
Book-making and self-publishing workshop—facilitated by Jason Dodge. Organised by the Colomboscope, Jan 2021.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
"Showing the evidence without being evidence" Zine (Mini Photo Book) - An experimental publication made with The Packet 2024.
Research Documentary on Vaikuntha Ammanai funeral rituals, Tamil Nadu, India (2023), Exploring shared cultural and historical practices between Tamil-speaking communities in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, and Tamil Nadu, India.
INITIATIONS
Founder of Batticaloa Photo History Archive in 2021
Co-Founder, Artist & Team Member of WEAREFROMHERE, a community-based art project. (Since 2017)
Founder and Director of Mount Studio & Analogue Film Lab.
WORKSHOP FACILITATION AND CURATION
Curation
Curated a student's photography exhibition, "Kalpitiya Stories" 01 July - 30 September 2025, Nelson Mandela School, Berlin, Germany.
Curated a student's photography exhibition, "Kalpitiya Stories" 29 April - 04 May 2025, Kite surfing Lanka, Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka.
Curated a series of workshops, discussions, and monthly film screenings for the weekend events at the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka ( August 2024 - March 2025)
Workshop Facilitation
Five-day residential Photography workshop at Kite surfing Lanka for students from five different schools in Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. Berlin x Kalpitiya student exchange project 2025
One-day Photography workshop for the students from two different schools in Berlin, Germany, Berlin x Kalpitiya student exchange project 2025 at the Nelson Mandela School.
Two Public Cyanotype workshops at Kayamai Studio, Colombo, Sri Lanka (10 June/14 June 2025) "Travelling Plants" a transdisciplinary project by the Goethe Institute Colombo and the Alliance Française de Colombo
The First-ever Public Cyanotype Workshops in Sri Lankan History. Two Cyanotype workshops at the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka in 2024 (28 September/ 09 November).
Documentary Photographic workshop on "Personal Archive" 17 December 2023, Part of a project on memory. Church of the American Ceylon Mission, St.John's Church, Batticaloa.
WORK EXPERIENCES
ARTRA Magazine (Aug 2019 – Feb 2020) Head of Photography & Videography.
The Asia Foundation (Oct 2019 – Mar 2020) Project Assistant (Part-time)
Barefoot (Since June 2020 - Dec 2022), Visual Archivist & Documentarian.
St Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia (Jan 2021 – May 2024) Visual art teacher, Master in charge of Design club & Rover scout leader. S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia,
Photographic Society of Sri Lanka (August 2024 – February 2025) - Curator and led the Darkroom Lab.