“Like with many self-taught artists, Constantine’s primary sense of aesthetics, form and structure of paintings has roots in different art historical phenomena or thrusts.  His obsession with textual excerpts and collage in paintings draw its inspirations from Jasper Johns or Robert Rauschenberg’s neo-Dada and pop art renditions. 

At the same time, Constantine’s format of placing texts in his paintings cannot distance from the format of text placements in Buddhist mural paintings. Whether consciously or unconsciously executed, such close similarities make us think of the spectrum of sources and socio-cultural influences that crisscross in the art and the thematic that Constantine tries to attempt.” Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai

Godwin R. Constantine is a Sri Lankan artist whose creative journey is deeply rooted in personal history, displacement, and identity. Born in 1964 in Katugastota, his early life was disrupted by the communal riots of the 1970s, forcing his family to move from Kandy to Jaffna. Despite training as a medical doctor and later becoming a cardiologist, Constantine pursued art as a parallel path—first exploring drawing and painting, and eventually expanding into performance and installation art. His art is informed by a strong sense of place and the personal and collective trauma resulting from Sri Lanka’s civil conflict.

Constantine’s transition from painting to performance and installation art was driven by the limitations he felt in traditional media when confronting complex social and political themes. His first solo show, Existence, held at VAFA Gallery in 1999, marked a watershed moment in Sri Lankan art history as it introduced performance art to local audiences. He continued to challenge norms through projects like The Maze, a collaborative installation that examined personal and national memory. Constantine’s works often incorporate elements of ritual, repetition, and bodily endurance, reflecting his deep engagement with the physical and psychological aftermath of conflict.

A founding member of the Theertha International Artists Collective, Constantine has played a pivotal role in shaping Sri Lanka’s contemporary art scene. His involvement in initiatives such as Imaging the Aftermath (2011) reflects a sustained commitment to exploring post-war realities. In that project, Constantine used personal narratives and found objects to question how societies remember—and often forget—violence and suffering. His installations are layered and conceptual, frequently demanding that viewers confront uncomfortable truths about identity, history, and complicity.

Godwin R. Constantine stands as a rare figure who bridges two seemingly disparate worlds: medicine and contemporary art. While his professional life as a cardiologist embodies precision and healing, his artistic practice embraces ambiguity, vulnerability, and critique. His work does not offer easy answers but instead carves out a space for reflection and dialogue. Through deeply personal yet universally resonant themes, Constantine continues to shape the discourse around memory, trauma, and belonging in post-war Sri Lanka.