1943, was a very distinctive time in Ceylon. The country was still under colonial rule, the legendary 43’ group was founded and it was also the year that the celebrated architect, artist and designer Tilak Samarawickrema was born.  As a boy however, he never seriously considered engaging in art, “My father was an engineer; I initially wanted to pursue engineering. But I didn’t have sufficient grades to do so” explained Tilak. 

Despite his own doubts about his drawing skills, he joined the school of architecture (Katubedda) in 1965. Here, merely with the first assigned project, he managed to leave an impression with the faculty. Soon enough he became a hungry student, feeding his mind not only with architecture but with art, theatre, film and books.

He loved to read the biographies of Van Gough, Picasso, and Matisse etc. But he credits Ananda Coomaraswamy’s ‘Medieval Sinhala Art’ for greatly influencing his artistic life. “He’s a great man …I was the first to protest when they renamed Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha to Nelum Pokuna Mawatha.”

“Art was something I simply drifted in to. When I saw my doodling habit evolve to an art form.” said Tilak, clarifying his tampering with different branches of artistry.  After his stint at Katubedda, he had no choice but to resume his studies abroad.

However unlike his friends, he was unable to afford university education in England or Australia.  “A scholarship to Italy was advertised. I applied and got it”.  Tilak didn’t mind his lack of knowledge in Italian; he had read Alberto Moravia’s ‘The Woman of Rome’ and was fully enthused to begin a new adventure.

During the 70’s, Italy was a hub of political, cultural and social movements. Thus when the young Tilak arrived in Rome in 1971, he spent the next twelve years becoming an active participant of this moving transition.

Spending his time between Milan and Rome, It was a tough life, as Tilak’s sole revenue depended on the sale of his line drawings. Amidst financial constraints, unwittingly he found himself in the most unusual and interesting circumstances.

“In Rome, the ground floor, of the building I was living in had tenants who were practicing the oldest profession in the world.  I was shocked when I found out. I was so scandalized that I called my landlady immediately and informed her. To my surprise she said “Che Dolcezza (How sweet) Tilak!” What more could I have said? I end up living there for the next ten years”. This obviously had shattered Tilak’s conservative middle class upbringing.

Italy introduced him to the crème of Avant Garde artistes. One was Pierre Restany, the famous art critic, who enjoyed his drawings.  “I was in a world of international design, art, architecture… yet my drawings were almost exclusively about Sri Lanka.”

During the summer of 1977, Tilak took a course on the ancient technique of stone etchings and lithography in Urbino. He later produced limited editions of his work, using the technique of copper-plate etchings. Only a few of these remain with him today.

The newly wedded Tilak, with his young bride Sriyanthi, left his beloved Italy, and returned to Sri Lanka in 1983. “I wanted to get back in to architecture”. And so he did. Tilak since then has been designing industrial buildings, houses, banks etc. Some of the manufacturing giants he has designed for are Brandix and Hidramani group of Companies.

Moreover, he can also be accredited for reviving the craft tradition of Sri Lanka by cultivating skilled weavers of Talgune, Udu dumbara. “It’s a heritage that must be preserved” he declares, seriously.

A few years ago, Tilak had to seek legal advice for a possible design infringement case, “My tapestries were around in the city of Milan, where Karl Lagerfeld also had a studio. One of the young designers from that studio would have obviously seen them or got hold of one my catalogues and taken it to Lagerfeld and this might have inspired him. So when he came out with the Fendi collection that year, it looked very similar to my work. Though I did consult lawyers, I didn’t pursue it any further.  Anyway when I was in New York later that year, I went to the Fendi store on 5^th Avenue and touched some of the fabric, it was so beautifully done and I felt flattered”

It’s exciting to know that after many decades an exhibition of his line drawings is on his agenda for next year. Tilak Samarawickrema is an artist with multifaceted design skills. But more importantly he is a man who has truly lived his life and has no regrets; a rare statement that any person of his experience or otherwise can claim.

For further information: http://www.tilaksamarawickrema.com

By Shazzana Hamid