How often do we get to live our dreams or pursue our passions? For some these opportunities come easily, for others it is a fight and those who emerge victorious will never look back. Our artist in conversation today, is one such determined individual, Mahesh Chathuranga Ekanayake, a sculpture artist. We are inspired and excited to bring this interview to you!

How long have you been a sculptor?

I am a sculptor; I have been working as a sculptor for almost ten years now while pursuing extensive education in sculpture. I have been very fond of art since childhood and studied art as a subject during my school days. Although I created small sculptures during my school years, after finishing my school years, I started my art activities with sculpture as my main scope.

Who are your greatest influencers?

Surrealism art tradition can be pointed out as a main art tradition that is based on creating many of my artworks. I have studied the works of Salvador Dali and Alberto Gicomet, artists who mainly belong to that tradition. I also studied the art works of modern artists like Prof Laljeeth Aheer. Their art styles influenced my artwork and helped me become who I am today.

Did you have a formal education on sculpting or are you self-taught?

Yes. Of course I have formal education. After my schooling, I entered The University of Visual and Performing Art, Colombo and that was the turning point in my life. I am from a village named Kekirawa, it is quite a rural area and life is somewhat difficult, yet I managed to enter University and learn in an environment with the right mentors to develop my artistic skills. I also earned a scholarship from the University Grants Commission to study Master of Fine Art (sculpture) at the Lucknow University, India.

Do you have a particular style? How did you become so passionate this particular style?

To be honest, I'm still finding my own style. Anyone can easily recognize it by seeing my artwork. I always try to create something new. It paves the way for me to improve day by day as a sculptor.

What are your other passions other than art? How have these passions contributed for you to become the artist you are today?

Whenever I have free time, I allocate my time to visit places rich in culture and architecture, I visit art exhibitions, talk with artists, and engage in various social activities and sports activities. All of this gives me great strength to develop my artwork and to be new to me.

Could you walk us through your process? Percentage wise, how much time do you spend preparing for the sculpture and how much time on the actual sculpture itself? Is preparation an important part of your process?

It all begins with an idea, when I am inspired to create a sculpture, I always study further works of art that have been created in a similar way and then create a sketch in relation. According to the sketch, I then work on getting the required material to create the sculpture. At first I create a small model and then the final sculpture is created. A sculpture cannot be finished in one day, depending on the nature of the sculpture, it may take me a few days or a week or a month to complete a work.

Are you engaged in new artistic adventures? How is artistic exploration important to you as an sculptor and to your process? How do you then decide what to incorporate into your style and what to leave as pure fun?

As I am a University lecturer, I need to constantly keep myself updated, so I research new techniques, materials and tools, If I am able to get them I also experiment. I try my best to attend national and international art exhibitions and interact with other artists to develop myself.

Was there a particular moment where you could tell that your skills had just crossed over into being an exceptionally good painter instead of a pretty good painter? What did you do to make that leap?

I have many achievements on both national and international platforms since my childhood. They created good opportunities for me to move forward in this field. I have also participated in art exhibitions in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Turkey and London. I also represented Sri Lanka in 2021 at the London Art Biennale. I was also presented with the best sculpture award in 2021 at the Raja Ravi Varma award program held in India. I don't mean to boast, my I believe my talent has been recognized as it is exceptional and my achievements confirm this.

How do you push yourself? Do you set goals for yourself? And if so, what are those goals? Do you think setting goals is important for a sculptor in his/her artistic journey? If so, why?

Yes, indeed as an artist I have a goal. My aim is to progress as an artist as well as in education. Currently, in Sri Lanka, we are facing very difficult times due to various political and economic instabilities. But I try to focus on my art and work as much as I can.

How is your experience working with Aartzy? Do you think it's a useful platform for artists?

At present, as I mentioned previously, all of us, are facing many difficulties. Artists are equally affected. I see Aartzy as a good platform to showcase our artwork and take them overseas. It also helps us improve our standards. It is a good opportunity to build a dialog between us and our audience. I am very grateful to Janaka and his team for giving me this opportunity to be a part of this. Aartzy has established itself at a very opportune time.

You can view the entire collection of Mahesh Chathuranga Ekanayake here.

Manesha Pieris (2022)