Artist Seevali Illangasinghe projected his image in his own humble way in the artistic milieu. Born in 1945 at Seevalipura in the backwoods of Anuradhapura, Seevali had his innate skills refined at the Kekirawa Central College under the tutelage of two of his gurus, Elhami and Tikiri Banda.
With the progress of time he bid farewell to the Vanni which moulded his persona and ventured into the capital city, Colombo. Here, he met the renowned multi-faceted artiste Shesha Palihakkara. His acquaintance with Kala Guru Shesha was to be the landmark of his future artistic life. It helped him improve his latent skills in the art direction of Shesha’s Serendib cinematic productions.
Later, he got the opportunity to apprentice under veteran sculptor and artist Somabandu Vidyapathi. Seevali had his share in the coordination work in popular films and dramas such as, Romeo & Juliet, Hithaka Pipuna Mal, Kotabari Yudde and Karadiya which helped him prosper further in his artistic expositions.
His maiden art exhibition was held at the Lionel Wendt in 1971, the golden decade of Sri Lankan art and cinema which propelled him to dizzy heights. In successive years he held his art exhibitions in several foreign countries among which USA, Britain and France were foremost. His creations have found its way into Presidential Art collections, the People’s Bank, Bank of Ceylon, Sapumal Foundation and Paradise Art collections as well. It seems, today, Seevali remains mute or relegated into oblivion. Hence our request to you, Seevali to break off your silence and come back to the domain and display your latent talents, the pride of Vanni, the cradle to many an artist.
- Chandana Ranaweera, Alawwa