Sunday Times 2
From an eyesore to a work of art
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Lalith Senanayake,a resident of Hendala, Wattala has created astounding arts using waste plastics that have been accumulating on the beach for months.
Lalith and his wife Ruwanthi Perera, daughter Yani Varanasi and son Sega Pawan have been collecting plastics for months and then turned this waste into designs that beautify the beach.
Senanayake was a journalist and cartoonist working for several leading newspapers in the country. He later worked as a graphic designer for those newspapers and later, he built his identity as an artist and was tempted to create something wonderful.
At the Uswetakeiyawa beach in Wattala, he created an elephant using tons of plastic bottles, electronic waste, plastic pieces, rubber pieces, etc that were floating in the sea.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Senanayake said: “I was inspired to design when I saw things lying around the shore, and decided to turn them into art.
“If you look at the Hamilton Canal today, you can see how much plastic is added to the sea just from that. A truckload of plastic is accumulated into the ocean every minute, of every day, for a year. Can you imagine how much plastic washes up ashore? Walk on any beach, anywhere, and the plastic waste spectacle is present.
“I previously teamed up with a group of young people in Wattala and created a turtle out of plastic waste on the beach. Sadly someone stole that design,” he added with dismay.
Lalith is an expert in the fields of assembly and painting. He gained much from mentors such as P Charles, Prof Sarath Chandrajeewa, and Dr Kalam. Lalith’s design exhibitions have been held in Sri Lanka, India, England, Kuwait and Dubai.
Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera has praised Lalith Senanayake’s designs and said he intended to collaborate with him on future programmes.
The artist, his work, and family. Pix by Prasanga Perera