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Thapi Odu (Flee) தப்பி ஓடு
Project type
A Participatory Commission Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Location
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Thappi Odu (Flee) is a monumental installation that serves as a collective portrait of the global Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. Commissioned for the Ulster Museum, the work is anchored by a global participatory process: Anushiya Sundaralingam invited members of the diaspora from around the world to contribute photographs of their feet—the primary vessels of flight and migration.
These images were meticulously hand-screen printed by the artist and integrated into the physical structure of the installation. Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the work deconstructs the skeletal forms of boats and displacement. Each screen-printed image represents an individual journey, transforming the installation into a living archive of resilience. By bridging personal contributions with institutional space, Sundaralingam interrogates the shared weight of history and the collective movement toward a new horizon.
