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Art and the artiste, carved in tradition
By Randima Attygalle
A wooden clock, a serene upasaka amma immersed in a bana potha, pun kalasa – symbol of abundance: wood carvings with the traditional touches are L.P. Sunil’s special skill.

A self-taught artiste, Sunil who lives in Madapatha was inspired by his father’s carpentry skills from a young age. “Although my father was a skilled carpenter, I do not hail from a family of artists. None of my siblings could draw a proper human figure,” smiles Sunil. Although he displayed exceptional skills in drawing and wood carving since his childhood, his parents did not have the means to support him to expand his horizons in the craft.

A determined Sunil, however, studied the literature written on the subject and applied his new-found knowledge to simple wooden ornaments, decorations at the village temple and pirith mandapa. In no time, friends and fellow villagers flocked around the enterprising young man to place orders for wooden clocks, a speciality of Sunil’s and an assortment of other woodwork including designs for houses such as wadinbu leli and statues.

“Initially I had no ambition of making my hobby into an enterprise, but with the demand from people and a family of my own to support, I started a small-scale woodwork business,” recalls Sunil.

Intricately carved wooden clocks seem to be a signature work of Sunil’s. These clocks made out of mahogany and ebony are guaranteed a long life span by Sunil. “It’s a very time consuming process but the end result is fruitful as the hard timber used guarantees its durability,” explains Sunil. He sticks to natural colours as he believes they capture its unique value.

Sunil’s talent extends to sculpture as well as fabric painting. He also reproduces other designs. An interesting Pakistani item of five cobra fangs intertwined to hold an item like a plaque, an ash-tray or a plate of goodies has been reproduced by Sunil preserving all the facets of the original work. “I am a believer in individual creativity.

However, upon a request by a customer, I do reproductions of the items brought to me,” explains Sunil adding that it is essential to understand the mentality of the original artiste to do a similar work of art. Exclusively hand made, Sunil’s work of art is devoid of any high-tech machinery. “Other than the basic tools required in carving and finishing the product, I use no sophisticated gadgets nor do I employ any assistants,” he says. “Everything is instant in the modern world, people are losing their natural touch. But inspite of this marathon race, we must remember that there is still a place for tradition and creativity which will no doubt give birth to a work of quality,” he adds.

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