About the Cover, “After the Rains”
“After the Rains is a semi-autobiographical painting that represents a transformative time in my life when I was coming into my own as an artist. It depicts a face-off with a yakka from Sri Lankan mythology. Yakkas are sometimes seen as demons but they are different from the Western conception of demons in that they can be given offerings to provide protection, and some have a traumatic past which led them to have a frightening appearance. I like to see them as human and relatable figures in a way, as one definition of being human is to have flaws, and in some ancient Indian texts, Lanka itself was described as an island of demons.”
Shyama Golden is a visual artist and painter based in Los Angeles, CA. She has exhibited her work at Harper’s, Los Angeles (2024); Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Los Angeles (2023); Swivel Gallery, Brooklyn (2023); Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka, Colombo, LK (2023); Friends Indeed Gallery, San Francisco (2023); and Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, Los Angeles and New York (2022). Her work has been featured in Artforum, New American Paintings, and Colossal.
