Over the past 20 years, Sri Lanka has been the site of more suicide bombings than any other country in the world.

"If there has been another attack, the first question is, 'How many killed?'" says King, a 23-year-old journalist who has come of age during Sri Lanka's 20-year civil war. "The numbers have to be in the 60 to 70 range to generate even a raised eyebrow. This kind of thing is just the usual here, like no big deal."

Against the growing sense that such violence is a normal part of everyday life, a motley group of local artists have taken action. They call themselves "the road painters." Following an attack in Colombo, at first light on the following Sunday about a dozen young artists visit the scene to create a memorial on the pavement: with freestyle painting and stencils the artists transform what had been a bloody street to colorful protest art. Every mural is different, but they all carry the same slogan: "Secure the sanctity of life." The words are those of slain human-rights activist Neelan Tiruchelvam, the leading Tamil voice advocating a peaceful way out of Sri Lanka's ethnic morass.

The road painting movement began following the assassination of Tiruchelvam in 1999. He was in the midst of negotiating a new constitution with Sri Lanka's president when he was killed on his way to work.

Tiruchelvam's widow, Sithy, has worked on several of the murals. "For me, participating has been cathartic," she says. "The murals are a bold and hopeful statement."

This slideshow offers just a few of the images from the road painters' response to a November suicide bombing on Colombo's Chitra Lane. The bombing was aimed at Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. He escaped, but six bystanders were killed and several dozen injured.