Brit Sri Lankan artist and illustrator Murugiah creates kaleidoscopic mood-boosting artwork which has earned the attention of big brands
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Courtesy of Murugiah
Swiping through Instagram this bright burst of colour caught my eye. The lines were bold, the shapes were purposeful and the colours just jolted me. I checked the name of the page and it belonged to an artist called Murugiah.
I delved deeper and noted that he had an eponymous business which is making headway in the UK‘s creative sphere. Having trained initially as an architect the draw to become an artist was great and Murugiah soon followed his dream to be an artist instead. He considers himself a ‘candy coated psilocybin particle beam daydreamer’ and describes himself as an artist and illustrator. Born in the UK to parents of Sri Lankan origin, Murugiah is curious about his Sri Lankan heritage and has begun weaving in what he has learnt about his culture and heritage to the work he creates. He has worked with Apple, Disney, Marvel, Facebook and New Balance to name a few big brands while his work has been exhibited in America, France and the UK.
Would you describe yourself as an artist or an illustrator?
I would describe myself as both. But I feel the titles are blurred as to how the work can be represented. I see no difference to releasing an art print based on an invented idea of mine verses creating an artwork for a clothing brand. They are both uniquely coming from me as the artist. But to answer your question more clearly I describe myself as an Artist. It’s the easiest catch-all term for what I do.
You trained as an architect and transitioned to an artist/illustrator. What promoted this?
I wanted to be an artist before I trained as an architect. I had told my parents when I finished school that I wanted to become an artist but my parents could not really understand any profession that wasn’t medicine, law or engineering! So that’s why I traded as an architect first.
Did you have to retrain as an artist/illustrator?
No. But post architecture I spent years learning to be an artist on my own. I also worked as a designer for a greeting card company and as a graphic designer at a restaurant chain. So I tried to get as much experience across design as I could!
Did any of the skills you learnt while studying architecture help you in your new career as an artist/illustrator?
Yes! In retrospect my skills in understanding positive and negative space, composition, the human experience of architecture all helped and are still helping in the creation of my art and illustrations.
