Sri Lankan priest shapes next generation of artists

Herald Malaysia

13-05-2025

Artist and sculptor Samantha Thushara has crafted dozens of statues and trained over 200 students from various faiths May 13, 2025
Sri Lankan Catholic priest Samantha Thushara (center) conducts a workshop for his students at Gampaha, Western Province, Sri Lanka. (Photo supplied)
By Quintus ColombageWhen he is not busy with pastoral engagements, Fr Samantha Thushara can be found in his bustling art studio, located behind the stone facade of Holy Cross Church in Gampaha, Sri Lanka's Western Province.From rising early in the morning to returning to bed late at night, the 53-year-old, soft-spoken priest remains busy with chisels and mud as an artist, sculptor, and art teacher.
'Art is a bridge. It unites us despite our differences, allowing us to share common human experiences,' he told UCA News in a recent interview.
Thushara has created dozens of paintings and life-sized statues of religious and globally renowned personalities and trained over 200 art students, including Christians, since 2015.He has been conducting training workshops for both young men and women in Gampaha and the nearby Kimbulapitiya area.The priest says he not only teaches them paintings or sculptures but also 'sculpting their lives.'Over the past few years, Thushara and his students have crafted statues of Jesus, Mary, and Catholic saints, as well as global icons such as Aristotle, Mahatma Gandhi, Karl Marx, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Che Guevara, and Martin Luther King Jr.
They have also created Buddha statues for temples and public places across Sri Lanka.Transforming livesLiyana Arachchige Kalhara is among the 30 students currently undergoing their training. The 23-year-old Buddhist said the training made him familiar with sculpting instruments, allowing him to cast figures like St. Michael the Archangel and Mahatma Gandhi.
"Fr Thushara transformed my mindset. Now I prepare thoroughly, read more, and do my art with greater understanding and discipline," Kalhara told UCA News.
Sigithi Harshika, 29, from Halpe, Katana, Western Province, completed a training course under the guidance of Thushara. She now runs her own art workshop.
'I've had to pause taking new orders because demand has grown so much,' Harshika told UCA News.
Harshika's latest artwork included Stations of the Way of the Cross for a church. She employs several assistants to craft statues and said she is grateful to the priest for paving the way for self-reliance.
Fathima Hasna, a Muslim student from Udugampola in the Western Province, said that the priest's work is not limited by the boundaries of religion.
A lifelong passion
Thushara was born in 1972 in the seaside town of Maggona in Western Province as the youngest of five children.
The town is home to Sinhalese-speaking Maggona ethnic people who are believed to have migrated to present-day Sri Lanka from the eastern Indian state of Odisha in the 13th century. Thusara's family belongs to the ethnic group.
He was attracted to art in his childhood and pursued the passion after entering the seminary for priestly formation. Thushara was ordained a diocesan priest in September 2000.
Priestly life offered him opportunities to pursue his passion for art, he acknowledged.
The priest first studied at the Vibhavi Academy and the Colombo Academy of Art. Then he moved to Italy for specialized training in sculpting. There, he earned a diploma in the Sacred Art School of Firenze and a master's degree from the Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence.
Thushara said his training in Italy allowed him to work with renowned European sculptors, but he remained focused on Sri Lankan culture and traditional faith practices.
'My soul is always here,' he says.
Crossing boundaries
Over the years, the priest oversaw the crafting of 150 life-sized statues, six church altars, and Buddha statues, including one he created for the Narammala Punyawardena Temple.
Among the artist-priest's most notable works are 25 figures he created for All Saints' Church in Borella, a suburb of the capital, Colombo. Those include a cinematic visualization of the crucifixion of St. Peter.
Sarath Chandrajeewa, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Visual and Performing Arts, says the priest's emphasis on traditional artwork is laudable.
"In a world where our statues are losing value to corners being cut and to fiberglass, he restored integrity and discipline to the sacred art," Chandrajeewa said.
Apart from being an artist and arts teacher, Thushara has made strides to uplift the lives of people in Uchchimune, a fishing village in the Northwestern Province.
He trained 30 impoverished Catholic fisherwomen in sculpting, candle-making, and rosary-making. The training enabled these women to earn a stable income and lift their families out of poverty with their newfound livelihoods.
Wijith Rohan Fernando, a senior lecturer in Christian Studies at the University of Kelaniya, states that the priest empowers village youth by providing them with skills, self-expression, and dignity through meaningful and creative labor.
While his student Kalhara carefully carves an angel's wing, he glances at his guide with humility and gratitude.
"He is not just a teacher. He helps us do better than we ever thought we could do," Kalhara said.--ucanews.com