Madame Tussauds may soon have a rival
The gallery is buzzing with activity; people who have flocked to gaze at the celebrities of local and international fame and to pose by their side for a photograph. Lined up on either side of the National Art Gallery are 14 figures -Visharada W.D. Amaradeva, Ravindra Randeniya, Prof. Sunil Ariyarathne, Malini Fonseka, Sunil Edirisingha, Victor Rathnayaka, Mahendra Perera, Prof. Carlo Fonseka and even Bruce Lee, Che Guevara, King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, Ehelepola Kumarihamy, Maddumabandara and Keppetipola Nilame.
True to life: The wax statue of Sunil Ariyarathne: Pic by Hasitha Kulasekara
It’s almost as if Madame Tussauds exhibition had come to Sri Lanka, some visitors remark as they walk through the display of wax statues created by a talented father and son duo last week. For the creators Athula and Mahima Herath from Kandy, the exhibition which brought their work to a larger audience in Colombo has seen in its wake, a great sense of pride and accomplishment in return for all the years of hard work they had put in.
It all began quite by chance. Taking a stroll on the streets of Kandy Athula Herath had found in an old book store a picture book on wax statues – a souvenir from Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in the UK. An interior designer, Athula was inspired to try his hand at making them himself. He did some research on the art of wax sculpture and started off experimenting with a special wax he got down from Australia through one of his friends.
Though he tried as many as a hundred statues, he failed to create that perfect figure, he admits. But he didn’t give up; he read more, tried out another high cost imported wax until about six years ago the statue he made of well known actor Mahendra Perera turned out to his satisfaction. From then on, he and his son have been hard at work.
Athula’s aim is to open a wax museum in Sri Lanka to give the locals a feel of the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum experience. “We see a lot of people who have visited the wax museum in the UK coming back with some amazing photographs. This is not something that everyone could experience. That is one reason why I wanted to do something of this nature,” he says.
“ Also, in Sri Lanka too, there are many who have contributed to their respective fields in a number of ways, for example Martin Wickremesinghe. People like them should be remembered for they live in the hearts of Sri Lankans,” says Athula. He adds that he feels children today are influenced by the cartoons on TV and sometimes consider these characters to be their heroes. “But, if they start following the life stories of people like Pandit Amaradeva, I am sure the dedication and sacrifices they have made in reaching that success, would inspire the young ones,” he adds.
Athula
Athula’s son Mahima has been helping his father with the wax sculptures since he was 13 and is now quite adept at the process. “When he started doing it on his own, I decided both of us should hold an exhibition,” says Athula adding that this is their first exhibition in Colombo although they held a small show in Kandy a few years ago and have since occasionally exhibited at various events.
“Initially, it took about one and half years for us to work on one statue, but as we got better, we were able to
Mahima
finish a statue within a month. Working on a statue is like you are living with it; you spend sleepless nights trying to fine tune the creation. The hardest part is to depict a person’s eyes. That does not mean you can pay less attention to skin tone, hair, facial features etc,” elaborates Mahima adding that they consulted many academics, archaeological and museum authorities etc when making statues of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, Ehelepola Kumarihamy, Maddumabandara and Keppetipola Nilame and other historical figures.
Their dream is a Sri Lankan wax museum – (they want to call it ‘Atma’) as soon as they find a suitable venue in Colombo, filled with models of local and international figures including cricketers, historical figures, actors and singers. “For this purpose, we also need sponsors,” says Athula, adding that costs are otherwise too heavy to be borne by them alone.