A sculpt cult

Nipuni Wimalapala

Sculptures and paintings are aesthetically linked through which an artiste can reflect thousands of thoughts. When both are mixed in one's work, it becomes a stunning success. Dayarathne Rathnapriya is an artist who has never been professionally trained but engaged in producing tremendous sculptures in which his painting ability is highly utilized.

Rathnapriya has been doing sculpture work for more than 18 years. He has started this career accidentally when he tried to repair a broken sculpture at home. Then he has realized the inborn talent within him and kept on doing it further. Today he does it professionally and he is well recognized among those who are interested in sculpture arts.

So far, he has done different types of sculptures related to different subjects.

"I believe I have done almost everything related to this field. I have made a large number of sculptures under different purposes. Some of the fields I have touched are, religion, nature, humans, animals, gods, ponds and many other areas. I have done sculptures to decorate house gardens, government institutes, private companies, Temples, churches etc. I have done a lot of religious statues and gods' statues. One of my favourites is creating pond, waterfalls and garden related things."

He uses cement to produce the sculptures and he paints them as well. He is quite good at looking at an object and sculpturing it. He imagines and does sculpt. It is possible for him to do whatever requires with sculptures. He believes that it is his inborn talent and he is well satisfied with his work.

"I am always happy and satisfied with what I do. I am not doing it only to earn money, but it heals my heart and souls. It is a kind of a meditation for me to be engaged with. I always love to do something new and impressive," Rathnapriya said. Either he accepts any requirement and does the work at his place or he visits the place if necessary. He is capable of sculpturing whatever is required. He wants to continue his work further and to do more creative work further. And also he is willing to join with another person and start doing film location sets. He will soon start it and will expand his work in a novel manner.

Anyone who is interested in sculpture art can see his work at his place: 3/22, Kumarathunga Munidasa Mawatha, Pallemulla, Panadura.