Sri Lankan artist Lalith strikes gold in Canada with his assemble art

Sri Lankan artist Lalith Senanayake is seen working on the assemble art titled ‘Moose Edmonton Canada’ using scraps of wood

The assemble art he created in London at the Biennale Exhibition, of a Sri Lankan leopard, made out of scrap metal

Sculpture and artist Lalith Senanayake has a come a long way since making his humble beginnings in Sri Lanka; his earlier works mostly being in the newspaper industry as a cartoonist and graphics designer. He is at present in Canada and has undertaken a project to engage in community art and works closely with ‘The Nina Haggarty Centre of the Arts’ in Edmonton. This account of Lalith will be written to the Daily Mirror mostly in the first person due to a close friendship and also because that’s the ideal way to bring to readers the best out of ‘Lalith’s journey in the field of art’.

There was a time when we journalists dreamt of ‘graduating’ from newspapers and moving on to work with agencies (newswire services), largely because the pay is better there. Only a few lucky and dedicated ones have made the grade. But Lalith was different. He had no interest in that path. He was working tirelessly and making steady progress in art. He dug deep into art and his mode of education involved self-study, travelling and the use of internet. He largely kept all his achievements as an artist a secret for obvious reasons. This was because of one thing that was very clear with a good many of the individuals who worked in Sri Lankan media; their skills didn’t support their lofty ambitions, hence jealousy is a built-in trait.

While Sri Lankan media professionals were having tunnel vision and were looking at Sri Lanka to treat them better, Lalith tried his luck abroad. He sent applications to foreign institutes which were conducting exhibitions and providing opportunities to upcoming artists. Hence Lalith saw many doors opening up for him abroad.  Lalith said that his progress was recorded in leaps and bounds when he started focusing on the ‘environment’ for his work of art. “I wanted to spread the word about recycling waste and I did an elephant using plastic waste which received much global attention. Since then I haven’t spent my monies to travel abroad. All opportunities came my way through invitations. That’s the power of working with the environment,” he said while I caught up on old times with him over several WhatsApp calls to facilitate writing this article about him.

Difference between Canada and Sri Lanka 

That elephant that he made on the Dikkowita beach back in Sri Lanka couldn’t be preserved for long. A lawmaker who uses ‘iron hand tactics’ made sure it was destroyed and removed from the beach. “The difference between Sri Lanka and Canada is that my country destroys art while Canada helps to preserve art,” he said.

In Canada he had done the sculpture titled ‘Moose Edmonton Canada’ out of scrap wood which came in for much study and praise. The cherry on the cake for Lalith was not that. Canadian academics and teachers of art had asked him where he had learnt his art from and inquired whether Canadians could be sent here to the Sri Lankan university where he was educated in art. Phew! What more compliments does one need, especially when you are performing oversees? 

In Canada, he works with students who have difficulties in expressing their skills through art. “I have to check their moods and energy levels every day when they come to work with me. I am like water, when I work with them, and take whatever form that the situation demands,” said Lalith getting a little philosophical. Coming back to that moose he made out of scrap wood, I couldn’t help, but ask him whether he had dropped the Sri Lankan elephant to embrace the Canadian moose and also the culture in his new found country. “No, I want to come back to Sri Lanka once I finish the work entrusted upon me,” he said in a jiffy. 

He also had his moments of glory in China when he was invited to present some of his works at the Chinese Government organised tourism promotional site in the city of Chengdu in 2023. His work was among exhibits from 26 other countries. His horse made of stainless steel and titled ‘horse of the silk road’ came in for much praise. According to Lalith, such artwork of his, exhibited around the world, gives him the opportunity to promote Sri Lanka’s name and the ‘lion flag’. Interestingly, S.P. Charles, the individual who drew the Sri Lankan national flag, is his first art teacher. He has fond memories of going to him for art class while being a student of St. Joseph’s College Colombo 14. 

He has had many art exhibitions around the world. The assemble art he created in London at the Biennale Exhibition, of a Sri Lankan leopard, made out of scrap metal, won him an award. He has also held art exhibitions in India and many other art events in Sri Lanka to display his work. His career simply skyrocketed to great heights when he looked beyond the horizons of Sri Lanka. 

Lalith learnt much about being established as an artist when associating with top figures in the arts field in Sri Lankan like Lucky Senanayake and Ralex Ranasinghe. Interestingly he became established as an artist before he reached his 50th birthday. Would Lalith’s art career reach a plateau soon, given that he achieved so much, internationally, pretty soon? These are thoughts from a Sri Lankan perspective when someone masters a subject area in the creative industry that gives serious thought to time, space and objects in double quick time. “I will find ways to express myself through art. I have the idea of penning a book on art in English,” he said. Lalith added that he has plans of visiting Florence in Italy; a place where artists have the right space and environment to bring out the best in art.

When he moved out of the newspaper industry, he had to surrender his government media identity card. Did he let go of a powerful and cherished possession like the media identity to embrace something else which is of more value to him? Lalith chose to answer that question this way:  “I see Canada as the ideal hub to work on my art and take it to the world. I work closely with the Canada Arts Council. I’m committed to decorating many cities in the world through my art”. 

That old saying of there being a strong woman behind the achievements of every successful man is so true to Lalith. His wife Ruwanthika (a yoga teacher and a poetess) has been a great strength to him and his engagements in art. He took this opportunity to thank all members of this family including his daughter (Yani) and son (Pavan) for all the encouragement and support given to him. 

Many art critics, back at home, are of the opinion that Sri Lanka lost an asset in the likes of Lalith. In Sri Lanka, art and artists are labelled as people who don’t earn enough to pay for their bills and groceries. Would he return to a country where existence for an artist is a struggle to survive the 30 days of the month? Will the new government in Sri Lanka recognize the skills of artists and the contributions they make to create a beautiful Sri Lanka? As I write the last few lines of this feature article, the sun has peeped its head from under some grey clouds, signaling the end of a depressing period where we experienced wet weather and floods in Sri Lanka. Hope is all we (citizens) have that Sri Lanka will become a better place to live in the future under a new regime. Lalith already has that comfort and guarantee in his new found country. The statement he made in the form of “I’ll return,” only puzzles me. It seems like he has some roots in Sri Lanka, which cannot be removed, that easily; akin to washing away paint from a brush after a hard day’s work is completed.

That elephant that he made on the Dikkowita beach back in Sri Lanka couldn’t be preserved for long because it was pulled down 

He had his moments of glory in China when making a horse out of stainless steel and titled it ‘horse of the silk road’. The creation to date stands tall at a tourism promotional site in the city of Chengdu

“The difference between Sri Lanka and Canada is that my country destroys art while Canada helps to preserve art,” says Lalith