Siuli-mo Pal, an artist of South Asian heritage, who works at the crossroads of history, politics, and philosophy, using art to question how these forces continue to shape identity and memory. Drawing on a rich palette that blends modern and traditional colours from her cultural heritage, she explores the “legacy” of British imperialism-particularly during the British Raj – and how its echoes continue to inform contemporary British diasporic identity and postcolonial trauma.

Siuli studied Art & Design, Politics, and History at A-Level, forming the basis of her research-led and interdisciplinary practice. She went on to complete a BA in Art and Art History at the University of Reading achieving a First Class Honours degree, where she was nominated for the Freelands Painting Prize. She is currently doing her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art to further expand and refine her practice.

Her early works draw from family stories and archival images of the Partition of 1947 and the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, grounding her practice in both personal and collective memory.

She has cultivated a balance between figurative representation and expressionistic mark-making. This approach allows her to capture the chaos and emotion associated with forced mass migration while preserving the clarity of her subjects. Recurring symbols like trains and wheels appear frequently in her paintings, representing both the legacy of British industrialisation and its devastating human toll. Through these motifs, Siuli conveys the dual nature of movement and stagnation inherent in colonial legacies, reflecting the ongoing trauma experienced by affected communities across generations.

What is now emerging in Siuli’s work is a focus on the aesthetics of resistance: an exploration of how colour, light, and material can unsettle, seduce, or disrupt. Through these elements, she layers historical memory with lived experience, creating spaces where the past and present speak to one another in powerful and unexpectedways. She is currently experimenting with the imagery of the rose ringed parakeets as a metaphor to represent assimilation, migration and diaspora. These birds are native to Africa and Asia but have been thriving in the UK after being let go as exotic pets.

At its core, Siuli-mo Pal’s artistic practice serves as a form of resistance, employing memory and storytelling to confront the legacies of British imperialism and shed light on its ongoing effects in today’s society. Through her work, she aims to provoke critical reflection and dialogue, fostering a deeper awareness and understanding of this complex history.