Sanath blooms in the wilderness

by K.K.D. Premalal, Matugama Spl. Cor.

"Some are born great. Some achieve greatness and greatness is thrust upon others," said William Shakespeare.

A Greek warrior

Sanath Wickremaarachchi of Panthiya, Matugama belongs to the second category as he has achieved greatness by making a cement statue of a Greek warrior in record time.

Wickremaarachchi is a nature lover who has taken to Buddhist meditation in a big way. He meditates every day and he says it has helped him to perform his tasks properly. Educated at C.W.W. Kannangara National School, Don Pedric Vidyalaya and Panthiya Sri Sumangala Pirivena, he developed his artistic talents and proved himself to be a budding artiste.

He did not miss any art exhibitions held in major towns to be familiar with the new trends in art. He learnt a great deal by doing research on art and sculpture.

Recollecting his fond memories he said he used to visit the Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela to observe animal behaviour. He turned all his visual images later into sculpture.

He studied art at the feet of Ariyapala Gamage, a well-known art teacher in Horana and later followed a course in art at the National Art Gallery. After completing a Diploma in Landscape, he held his maiden exhibition titled 'Bhavanawaka Shakthiya' at the Crescat Art Gallery in Colombo.

He has already done more than 400 sculptures and says he is capable of making sculpture to cover one hundred square feet a day.

Sanath Wickremaarachchi puts the final touches to the statue.

His forte is his ability to complete a sculpture in a very short period of time.

He established a Guinness record by making a statue of a Greek warrior in cement on a rough cement structure, six feet two inches in height within a period of three hours 49 minutes, 14 seconds.He used only the minimum number of instruments.

The officials of the Guinness Record Committee were present on the occasion. He received a certificate from the late Dr. Geethanjana Mendis, Director General, Institute of Sports and Medicine, which comes under the Ministry of Sport.

He says he has made the country proud by establishing a world record, but unfortunately his efforts have not been adequately appreciated by the media.

He wishes to pursue his higher studies in art in a foreign country. However, he is unable to realise his ambition due to financial constraints.

His next feat will be to create a sculpture in record time without using any art instruments. Moreover, he will be blindfolded during the whole operation. There are many more artists of Wickremaarachi's calibre. But they are like flowers blooming in the wilderness.