“Sculpture is the art of the hole and the lump” the renowned sculptor Auguste Rodin is supposed to have revealed. Any artist who has attempted to work with clay would know the infinite possibilities which are offered when a lump of clay is held in the hands. They would know that hands would transform into mere tools and that a conversation between the mind and the clay would be effortlessly instigated.
The clay would start its process of transformation and at times even the artist might wonder whether they are actually manipulating the clay or whether it is the clay that manipulates them. Eventually if a certain ‘oneness’ is achieved between the mind and the clay, a true artwork would emerge: the artist would without any doubt or hesitation know that ‘this is it!’
Asanka Jayasinghe is a sculptor who is very aware of this process which leads to a harmonious union. He is relatively unknown in the so-called ‘art arena’ of Sri Lanka. Yet, it is very evident when one views his work that he contains immense talent, passion and potential.
As with most artists Asanka has been interested in drawing and painting from a very young age and had been fortunate to have had the support and understanding of his parents who allowed him to pursue his passion. “After A/L’s while waiting for university entrance, instead of wasting three years I joined the Replica Centre managed by the Central Cultural Fund. We were trained in all aspects of sculpture and three dimensional art in order to replicate historical artefacts of Sri Lanka. This comprehensive training gave me the realization that sculpture was my destined career path.
Beginning
“The moment I held clay in my hand, I could sense an unidentifiable connection that offered so much potential. I wanted to further explore and began by producing a small sculpture for a toy manufacturing company. This was the beginning of my own expressive path,” Asanka describes his beginnings.
After gaining his undergraduate degree in sculpture from the University of Visual and Performance Art in Colombo, Asanka has undertaken projects which allowed him to expand his repertoire of talents and techniques. One such project was the life sized realistic figures of two potters he has sculpted for the Biyagama Pottery Museum. The figures when viewed are so realistic that the audience usually mistakes them for actual potters who are working in the museum. From then onwards Asanka has been fully involved in sculptural projects commissioned predominantly by Catholic churches.
“I was sought out by clergy of various churches because they were intrigued by the aesthetic quality of my work. I am in awe of Michel Angelo’s and Bernini’s art and as such my own sculptural work is very much influenced by the Italian renaissance aesthetics. When I attempt to sculpt a figure, I do extensive research on anatomy as well as the rhythm and the flow of the human figure. I suppose this is why my sculpture stands out. Most who view my sculpture assume that the work has been brought down from Italy!” Asanka said..
After having done commission work for years, Asanka explains that he always had the innate need to find his own ‘voice’ as an artist. “I did not have the financial privilege to express my concepts and thoughts artistically, so I was compelled to do commissions according to the needs of certain clients. But I knew I had to break away from the limitations and restrictions that I was framed with. Once I could build a somewhat solid financial foundation, I started to experiment with various concepts, techniques and media”
Great pains
Asanka reveals that he was intrigued by metal sculpture and as such took great pains to build a bronze casting foundry of his own. However, due to high cost factors he has been exploring other methods of working with metal. Eventually he began to work with metal sheets by using welding techniques.
“My priority is to reveal ‘beauty’ to the world. Whatever the concept may be, I do not let it compromise my notion of what ‘beauty’ should be. Therefore I take great pains and spend months on one piece, working patiently until I achieve what I feel is ‘true beauty’. I am careful when choosing the medium according to the concept and shift from one medium to the other depending on what the idea in my mind demands,” he elaborates.
Asanka is not an artist who takes the process lightly. For him the initial preparatory phase is as much as important as actual sculpting. He says that the moment an image forms in his mind that he sketches it until he could get a grasp of what needs to be done, which follows with modelling a clay sample he incessantly perfects before the actual sculpting is initiated. “I model, break and model again the clay sample so many times until I achieve what I feel is ’perfection’,” he says smilingly.
The greatest challenge an artist faces is finding a clientele. Asanka too has gone through the usual difficulties, especially when trying to find a market for his own artistic expressions. He says that he is fortunate to have been approached by Galleryscapes, an online platform which is passionate about promoting emerging and established Sri Lankan artists. Asanka is confident that the exposure he would gain from exhibiting his work on Galleryscapes would pave the way for him to exhibit his work even more extensively in time to come.
“I am grateful for the guidance and support which Galleryscapes has given me throughout. Although I knew that I was inclined to do certain types of work to reveal my own artistic identity, I did not have the conviction of finding a clientele or a market. The relationship I have with Galleryscapes is based on trust and respect. I know that their only concern is not about monetary gains and that they are genuinely trying to promote Sri Lankan art and artists. This gives me the comfort of knowing that I would not be exploited.” says Asanka, exuberating positivity and hope, even at a time of great economic, social and political instability. He says that art has the power to heal, the power to unite and the power to grant resilience.
As the great master sculptor, Michelangelo Buonarotti is supposed to have said “Genius is eternal patience’ and Asanka Jayasinghe bears testament to that remark.