Mesmerizing murals

By Nilma Dole

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Sri Lanka’s rich history with regard to creativity carved in stone is a tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. Be it the Lord Buddha statue at ‘Gal Vihara’ or the ‘Isurumuniya’ lovers, carving on stone is a passion Sri Lankan artists have indulged for centuries.

Our country is blessed with an abundance of a variety of stones possessing various colours Mahinda Jayasinghe, like his ancestors had seen love beauty them.

“I was inspired by Mother Nature’s beauty at a young age and having started in the gem mining profession, I discovered that ordinary stones meant much more to me than dazzling gems”.

In fact, he believed that a novel creation could be made to put these ‘precious’ stones into good use. Mahinda reminisces that he underwent an epiphany during 1995 when he discovered that he wanted to do something stonily different “I thought about channelling my talents into grinding the stone into powder and making masterpieces which are known to the world as stone-powder murals.

“The process of finding the perfect stone, explains Mahinda is another daunting task. “I travel all the way from Nuwara Eliya to Hambantota to even Balangoda in search of the best stones in magnificent colours with a diversity of 80 types like ‘Kalu Gal’, Kabok’ and ‘Mati Gal’ amongst others” tells Mahinda.

After he brings his ‘precious’ stones to his workshop at Kahawagahena (near Avissawella), he washes them with well water and dries them under the warm sun for days until they have no traces of water.

Thereafter he says that he uses the ‘Wan Gedi’ or the mortar and pestle to grind the hard the stone into four different stone sizes. “I hardly use any machines to grind stone because the traditional methods of grinding stone are better suited.

The stone I grind encompass the sizes of large, medium, small and dusty powder of which I fashion different features of the mural”, he said. Mahinda explained “Bigger stones are used for features like borders, medium stones are used for a mixture of landscapes, small is used to style intricate details of the mural and powder is used to define fine detail”.

To create a full emboss to bring out the better elements of the mural, Mahinda says he uses a teaspoon and a spoon around the size of his finger to set the stone firmly in place to craft the mural. “I then use a special concoction gum where I use four types of gum and glue which I buy from the hardware shop to paste the stones together”, he said.

Little by little, Mahinda’s creations breathe life and he emphasizes that there is no harmful side effects for humans when working with stones.

“We have been carving and creating stone masterpieces for centuries, so I think its best to bring back those golden days”, he adds. Mahinda’s stone murals will leave any onlooker breathless because the glistening of stones and the intricate weaving of the creation is original and beautiful. Jumbo elephants look larger than life, Energetic Kandyan dancers look as if they would come out of the frame any moment and the landscapes are done in such detail that one would think they were there.

Mahinda Jayasinghe has been awarded the prestigious Presidential awards for his art for the years 2005 and 2006 and has held many exhibitions at the BMICH together with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

“I have obtained the patent rights for my art and I believe that this unique art form can be used by budding artists in Sri Lanka because we don’t have to look very far for stones and even though it is a Herculean task to create, it is always worth it for there is a demand especially among tourists” he comments.

Mahinda gets massive orders for the ‘Jana Hendana’ Handicrafts Emporium at Battarramulla and will also have his own stall at the SAARC Summit this year.

Today, his work stuns foreign travellers at various locations at airport stalls, at various offices at the World Trade Centre and also at tourist outlets.