A chat with Yashara Wickramasurendra 

The Daily Mirror Life was in conversation with Yashara Wickramasurendra, a young participant at the 'Elephant R.U.N' competition organized by Shangri-La Hambantota who placed first in the youth category. Speaking with us, she shared memories of her experience and the passion she has for sculpting. 

Give a brief introduction about yourself. 

I'm 21 years old and a very proud old girl of Bishop's College where I had the resources to get more involved in my passion in both the written and performing arts. Currently I’m employed as an art teacher at Shyamala School of Art while studying part time in the field of education. 

What was the competition you participated in? 

The 'elephant R.U.N' competition was organised by Shangri-La Hambantota as I believe to bring awareness to the importance of protecting these wonderful creatures we have the honor of sharing a home with. The point of the competition was to use old recycled materials to create new art in the form of an elephant sculpture. 

How was your experience there? 

As I came across the poster for the competition I felt it was a perfect opportunity to educate my students on the heritage of elephants. Therefore with the help of my principal Mrs. Shyamala Pinto Jayawardena we incorporated it into our lesson plan where the kids brought in old jam bottles and bottle caps which they then decorated. I assembled the frame using old chicken mesh and filled the frame with the children's bottles and lids. The team at Shangri-La has been so wonderful and the whole experience was amazing. 

How do you feel about winning this award? 

The award I received was 1st place in the youth category, obviously I was thrilled at the announcement and I feel it was very thoughtful of the organizers to consider the amateur artists and give them a separate platform to be judged on rather than focusing solely on the senior category alone. 

What do you like about sculpting? 

As a child I dabbled in all forms of art materials and to date I feel I haven't settled on one particular piece that I prefer above the rest. In this case I chose the materials for symbolic reasons- wire to show the toughness we recognize with elephants and coloured glass to show the playfulness and vibrancy of these gentle giants. 

Any awards you have won before? 

I am a complete amateur when it comes to the world of large scale art competitions but I hope to take part in more in the near future. 

Any acknowledgements? 

To the team at Shangri-La for making this all possible, to Mrs. Shyamala Pinto Jayawardena, who was my first art teacher and with whom I now have the pleasure of working, for my early training and all the input I receive daily and to the rest of my team of teachers and supporting staff at art school for being the best ever! Also a huge thanks goes out to my students who helped with the build for challenging me and always being my inspiration, my somewhat unconventional family and group of friends for tolerating me and keeping me humble. Lastly to my mother for bearing through many scribbled walls, ruined carpets and cut up shirts for making me believe I could be whatever I wanted to be. 

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe