Prasad Hettiarachchi, a Colombo-based visual artist, creates work rooted in the city’s transformation due to large-scale development, especially around the Colombo Port City. Driven by a sense of nostalgia, he documents the rapid and often aggressive reshaping of land, architecture, and communities - changes that are frequently politically driven and economically questionable amid Sri Lanka's financial crisis. His practice explores both the physical erasure of heritage sites and the emotional trauma faced by displaced communities. These themes are visualized through works that integrate folklore, memory, and communal histories.

Prasad emphasizes the importance of global land politics, recognizing land not just as space but as a resource-laden battleground. His work aims to foster dialogue about these issues, especially within different cultural contexts. Through art residencies, he seeks collaborative opportunities, exposure to local traditions, and engagement with diverse communities. This helps expand his practice and intensify the impact of his artwork.

During such residencies, Prasad conducts field research, observes local life, and interacts with elders to incorporate traditional practices from rituals, drama, music, to folklore into his work. He plans to use multimedia approaches like photography, drawing, and weaving to create site-responsive, community-based works. These aim to highlight how development projects disrupt historical continuity and reshape identities.

The residency experience is pivotal in offering uninterrupted creative time, peer exchange, and deepened learning. Ultimately, it enriches his ongoing inquiry into urban change, memory, and community, while propelling his work toward more global, dialogic expressions.