Shayna Fonseka (she/her b. London) is a British-Sri Lankan, mixed-media artist interested in connection, transcendence and joy. She holds an MFA from the Ruskin School of Art and a BFA from the Slade School of Art. She was recently awarded the Erna Plachte Award 2024 and shortlisted for the Dorset Art Prize 2026 and Little Art in the Forest, 2026.
Select exhibitions include: Atrium, Hypha Curates, Southbank, 2026; Dorset Art Prize 2026, Poole Museum, Dorset, 2026; TYFBAF, Silian Gallery, London, 2025; Carry on Baggage, Galeria Augustine, Lisbon, 2023; Can’t Take My Eyes off You, Indigo + Madder, London, 2022; A Generous Space, Hastings Contemporary, 2022, amongst others.
Her work questions whether urban spaces can bring a feeling of connectedness to the landscape. Meandering walks is the beginning of her production process as she attempt to lose herself in familiar landscapes, to suspend her ego, to look at what she knows with a new lens and to find a sense of connection. Something that feels more imperative than ever, in a time of growing disconnect, (politically, environmentally and socially). She works with natural materials and synthetic hardscape found in the landscape and ultimately, aims to counter disconnection by revealing the urban landscape’s potential for belonging, play, and renewal.