From myth to peace and pleasure
Ruwini Jayawardana
PAINTINGS: Art is made with the intention of stimulating the
human mind and spirit. An artwork is normally assessed in quality by the
amount of stimulation it brings about, its impact, the degree of
appreciation, and the influence it has on its viewers. These qualities
together decide on whether to refer to the artwork as a masterpiece or
not.
Kulasiri Chandrasekara Ihalagama, 67, of Pothuhera is an exceptional
artist who based his creations on Buddhist and Hindu mythology. The
artist who had been a past student of St. Anne's College, Kurunegala,
and Prince of Wales, Moratuwa, claims that he had developed his artistic
talent by referring to books and studying works of art by great
painters.
Poetic value
"My parents were against my taking up art. They believe that my
future would be bleak if I make a career out of art. Nevertheless, I
devoted a lot of my free time towards my passion.
I was greatly influenced by George Keyts and the paintings at Ajantha
caves," Ihalagama explained. His inspiration from Keats had gone as far
as to make the late Srimani Athulathmudali to form a link with his
paintings and George Keyts'masterpieces.
"When she saw my paintings she said 'Oh, I thought George Keyts was
dead'," Ihalagama recalled. "Keyts' work possesses a lot of rhythm,
poetic value and colour combination. Those are the qualities of a great
piece of art."
In 1965, Ihalagama received the first grade certificate for the All
Ceylon Art Competition and in 1977 he was invited by Vocenza Cultural
Society in Auckland, San Francisco, to take part in an art show.
Hans Warner, the art director in Zurich, also invited him to another
art show held in Zalticon in 1979. Ihalagama held an exhibition of
paintings in Frankfurt, Germany during the same period before being
invited by Roopa Chand, an art director in New Delhi, to hold a show at
the Lokayata art Gallery in 2006. This was the same place that George
Keyts held his first exhibition.
Ihalagama had worked as a cashier at the head office of Lanka Mineral
Sands for 30 years before retirement. Now he lives a life of a yogi. Why
does he portray Buddhist and Hindu mythical figures in his paintings?
Peace and harmony
"Religious themes give the viewers a lot of peace and harmony. Art is
a universal language which can get these emotions across to the public.
There is a huge demand for art based on figures. I use water colours
and acrylic paints in my creations. At the moment I work for an Art
Gallery in Berlin and I send some paintings to an art dealer in New
York. My paintings are on display at the Barefoot Gallery, Lanka Hands,
and Plate Gallery."
Ihalagama's paintings can be seen at some temples in Sri Lanka as
well as abroad. He had donated a painting to the London Bodhi Sattwa
Vihara in 2004 while he had presented a Bodhi Sattwa painting to the
Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara in April 2007.
"I am searching for a temple to do some mural art," he said. |
