Meet U Kyu Sin Lay, master sculptor
- Thudhamma Road, on the right just before Meilamu Pagoda, Tadagale
- Not open for public
- +95 9 772111388
- Website
Now I am working on a 15-feet clay statue of Ba Htoo, one of the colonels who fought with General Aung San.
Sculpture workshop
On the dusty side of Thudhamma Road you will find U Kyi Sin Lay, working in what is both his studio and family home. In this very humble dwelling, for over eight years (and forty years in another workshop) he has created hundreds of bronze, fiberglass and plaster sculptures. Taught by the late master sculptor U Han Tin, he has created made everything from full-size portraits, to generals mounted on horses, as well as monastery buildings. Many of his works are in Myeik, his birthplace. U Kyi Sin Lay is only too happy to show you around his studio. It is a wondrous sight.
On-demand creations
At the back of U Kyi Sin Lay’s studio, you will find bespoke statues in the making that he constructs for clients on consignment. They cost up to 300 lek (US$30,000). U Kyi Sin Lay’s explains:” Now I am working on a 15 feet clay statue of Ba Htoo. He was one of the colonels who fought with General Aung San. His home city in Thanin Taryi State has commissioned this statue to honour his bravery. The framework of wood and steel rods is the base of my sculpting.”