The design of a Sri Lankan leopard was made of metal pieces presented by sculptor Mr. Lalith Senanayake has won an award at the famous London Art Biennale exhibition
Artist Name: Lalith Senanayake
Artwork Title: Our Triangle Leopard Friend
Artwork Media: brass sculpture
Artwork Size: 304X114X86cm
Nation: Sri Lanka
The design of a Sri Lankan leopard was made of metal pieces presented by sculptor Mr. Lalith Senanayake has won an award at the famous London Art Biennale exhibition. Paintings and sculptures from around 400 artistes around the world were chosen for the exhibition which is held annually at the old city hall of Chelsea, England since 1885.
Recently, the city authorities at Chengdu, Sichuan province in China chose two such works by Lalith Senanayake, to be placed at key locations in the city. Also the 12-foot-tall elephant image made using 800 ball bearings from discarded cars on display near Hunupitiya Gangaramaya Temple is also a work of Lalith Senanayake.
Lalith Senanayake developed his passion for the visual arts during secondary school. Post-schooling, he pursued his passion for wildlife arts and architectural scrap metal sculpture. Scrap metal welded and bent in his hands form awe-inspiring sculptures that capture the beauty of animals. His immense creativity and persistence in this new medium follow many years of practice as an artist working with oils on canvas, a cartoonist, and then a layout artist at several national newspapers.
Interestingly, Lalith’s father’s interest in and work of restoring cars had a profound impact on his psyche. He spent his early years hanging around his father and assisting him with his work. In doing so he constantly found new ways and unique angles of looking at mundane materials like springs, wires, and the vast array of odd discarded vehicle parts.
Initially, Lalith played with wires, indulging in trying to create what he calls “kid stuff”. His inclination to like and see forms in these unconventional materials was the seed which eventually grew into his work with scrap metal sculpture today. His forays into sculpture, wrangling metal for the structural strength of his work, invoked in him the thought of working purely on metal and other materials available. Thus began an arduous search for material. When hunting for materials, his brother eventually began to help by helping transport Lalith’s ‘stuff’.
From there, on a steep learning curve, fusing different metals and numerous materials grew into a passion and profession. As a person, Lalith is soft-spoken and unassuming with a deep and caring personality. His approach, both to life and his work, is vagabond-like, venturing into spaces few others would and indulging in many projects. Lalith is an outright artist of many spheres. His experiences are astounding – from painting ancient temple art to filmmaking, from draughtsmanship to graphic design; he has made inroads far afield, creating a space for himself and a comfort zone much sought after by artists.
Lalith is despondent about the art scene in Sri Lanka, which has faced great challenges these last few years and is looking to revive and celebrate Sri Lankan art by creating new platforms for both upcoming artists as well as artists of the past whose contributions have faded into obscurity.
Lalith Senanayake
