Giving shape to swirling ideas
Ajith Perera, the man behind Sri Lanka’s only handcrafted pottery firm calls for more public support to protect a dying technique
When Ajith Mohan Perera closes his eyes, fresh ideas take shape. Intuition lines the crevices of his thoughts. Swirls of creativity dance in his eyes. A rainbow of colours fills his mind. “I have a continuous flow of creativity, of ideas. So much so that it sometimes become a problem,” he says.
Ajith Mohan Perera has moulded Sri Lanka’s handcrafted pottery industry into what it is today. A self-taught artist, Perera has been honoured across countries for his work. But he is still unsure of why he decided to become a potter.
“It’s very difficult to explain why I got into pottery. One thing I know is that I was born with it — I am a born artist. I have no academic qualifications in this field,”
Perera is the founder and chairman of Anuradha Ceramics, which has its showroom in Majestic City. The company is Sri Lanka’s only handcrafted pottery manufacturer.
This month, following a seven-year exhibition hiatus, Perera will hold a pottery exhibition titled “Intuition,” which will showcase a new range of products from the company. Intuition will run from June 28 to June 30 at Park Street Mews. “I have two aims with this exhibition. I want to give my company new ideas and designs. Secondly, I want to show people who sacrifice their lives to the pottery industry, a new path,” Perera said.
Anuradha Ceramics has a faithful clientele, which consists of Odel Sri Lanka, the Hilton Hotel, Cinnamon Grand, Cinnamon Lakeside and the Jetwing group of hotels. Perera’s factory located in Piliyandala is not a factory in the typical sense of the word. Twenty staff from villages across the country nurture each piece. Following days of attention to detail, the finished product sits ready to be admired. But all these people in the melting pot that is the Anuradha Ceramics factory, are bound by a common thread — they have been trained by Perera.
Perera explained that even though pottery is one of Sri Lanka’s oldest traditions, the country is still not well equipped to encourage the pottery industry. “We ask the public to come and support us. We are a small scale business and we need your support,” says this passionate artist.
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