Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is a contemporary artist of Sri Lankan, Tamil heritage. His practice traverses global histories and languages of figuration with a particular focus on South Asian traditions. He sees the imaginative exploration of ancient pasts as a way to speculate on parallel futures and to expand ways of perceiving the present. While he works across ceramics, bronze casting, painting, drawing, and immersive installation, he is best known for his hybrid ceramic sculptures that fuse references to ancient forms with various tropes and imagery from popular culture, zoology and other discourses. Through these works he explores themes of secular and non-secular idolatry, co-existent belief systems, queer aesthetics, disciplinary and regional histories of ceramics and sculpture, monumentality, as well as self-portraiture and autobiography.ceramics, ceramic sculpture, contemporary sculpture, mythology, religion, spirituality, ritual, sri lankan-australian art, south asian influences, contemporary mythology, postcolonialism, decolonisation

The first sculpture awarded the Shire of Eltham 'Art in Public Places' Award/Commission. The Judges were Inge King, Jenny Zimmer and Daryl Jackson. The work deals with the juxtaposition of suburban and rural surroundings. This scupture is a typical example of the artist's oevre of the period. This sculptre is site specific and refers to the nature of the environment. The colour - bushfire red / sienna - alludes to the history of fire in the urban/rural fringe and the title, as well as the sculpture's shapes, forms and material refer to the natural and local elements. Judges report noted: "The most vital and expressive work for the site...with a great sense of dynamic movement and vibrant colour. Its' abstract forms will enliven the surroundings and the urban and natural environment. This work is the most appropriate for the site and expressive of the dynamics of an evolving community in which artistic discourse and debate has always thrived." The work has acquired the status of a major landmark from the National Trust. The Breeze is an abstract work made out of welded steel and painted in enamel in bush fire red / sienna. It comprises a series of flat, cut-out shapes, interlocking at different angles, giving the impression of being hinged together rather than fixed. The work references nature and the built environment. Its geometric shapes suggest man-made structures within industry and suburban life, while rural areas can be identified by the organic flame-like shapes fanned by the wind. The circular cut-out in the eye mimics the sun, symbolising the intense heat of the Australian climate, while the colour red alludes to the history of bushfire within the urban and rural fringe. N/Apublic art, ginger, red, sienna, elements, steel, abstract, breeze, fire, sculpture