• Salome Nanayakkara on creating art from recycled metal

One of the most fascinating things about art is that it is so diverse – as an artist you can use just about anything to create art. 

Salome Nanaykkara, or the ‘Metal Doodler’ as she is known online, is one of the artists who uses the unexpected to create intricate pieces. Her material of choice – recycled metal from everyday objects.

Recently, Salome was one of several artists who created a body of work for Season 3 of ‘To Lunuganga,’ the third leg of the 18-month programme which explored the inseparability of art, architecture, and ecology, using the gardens of prolific architect Geoffrey Bawa’s Bentota estate Lunuganga as context for this exploration. This programme of public exhibitions, installations, and discussions took place across three seasons commencing in May 2023. 

Salome’s site-specific installation ‘Transmutations’ was located within the home of renowned batik artist Ena de Silva, which was relocated to and reconstructed at the Lunuganga estate in 2009, when the land the house originally stood on was sold. Salome’s work in the Ena de Silva home responded to the legacy of de Silva’s late son, artist and environmentalist Anil Gamini Jayasuriya, to provide a glimpse at what his studio may have looked like. 

The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with Salome for a chat on how she got into art, what inspired her to work with recycled metal, and her approach to ‘Transmutations’.

The birth of the ‘Metal Doodler’

Salome’s journey into the world of art began around six or seven years ago, not from a place of formal training or an academic background in fine arts but from a personal struggle that led her to find solace in creativity. 

“I’ve always been a creative person, but I mostly worked in the corporate sector,” Salome explained. It wasn’t until a significant personal disruption caused her to hit rock bottom that she turned to art as a form of healing. “My creative practice was, in a way, my saving grace. I resorted to it not to make money or to sell but more for myself. That’s how it began.”

She began by using watch parts to make miniature sculptures of insects – a practice that would come to define her artistic identity. 

“I started making tiny sculptures of insects using watch parts, and then I received so many requests for commissioned pieces that ‘Metal Doodler’ started,” she recalled. At that time, Salome found it daunting to call herself an artist or sculptor due to her lack of formal training. “I got over that by saying I was doodling with metal and that was how the name ‘Metal Doodler’ was born.” 

The phrase ‘metal doodler’ encapsulated her early style – imaginative and playful yet intricately detailed. “I was very crafty as a child,” Salome reflected, “and a lot of what I do today feels like a mix of crafting and art, taking little bits and pieces and putting them together.” 

Maintaining a balance

The process of sourcing materials became an integral part of her creative experience. Some of it was just situational – for instance, she started using watch parts because she had a few broken watches, but once her work took off online and she began getting more and more commission requests, sourcing materials took on a bigger role. 

“People started sending me their electronic waste and stuff for me to use. Sourcing these materials was also a part of the joy for me,” she noted and this also led to her practice and scope of work evolving. 

The tiny insect sculptures grew into larger, more complex pieces. “These little insects turned into bigger sculptures – not exactly stand-alone sculptures – but I used to do large collages using scrap metal on board that could be mounted and framed,” she said. This shift allowed her to bridge the gap between traditional metal sculpture and wall art, creating works that were both decorative and deeply personal.

Though her art practice is new, over the last seven years, it has evolved into a full-fledged profession. “My practice started from a very hobby-like state and evolved into a place where there was a demand for what I was doing – ‘commissioned work’ – where I was making stuff for people,” she explained. 

Today, while she still takes on some commissioned work, her focus has shifted towards creating art that resonates with her personally.

“I rarely take on commissions now compared to before. I have a waiting list (it actually spans to next June), but I spend a lot of time doing what I want,” Salome said, acknowledging that this focus on non-commercial work was an intentional means of maintaining a balance. She acknowledged the importance of maintaining a balance between creating for herself and fulfilling public demand.

Much of Salome’s success came from social media, most notably her Instagram which she started not as a means of marketing but as a means of sharing what she was doing as a hobby. The response to her work though was phenomenal. 

“I’ve been fortunate. Whenever I posted something I usually ended up selling, and my following grew organically from people who had bought from me or followed me because they were interested in my art,” Salome said, noting that she disliked marketing herself online but pushed herself to do so because it was a tool. She noted: “It was also gratifying to see how people engage with my work.” 

With the rise of social media, the instant gratification of likes and shares can be tempting, but Salome also emphasised that posting your work online wasn’t for the faint of heart. “Sometimes the response I get from the public won’t always be great and finding that balance and staying true to what I love doing and what I need to be producing is a bit tough,” she said.

One of the significant turning points in her career was the opportunity to showcase her work at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. “That opened up things for me a little bit,” she said. 

This exposure not only expanded her audience but also allowed her to connect with collectors who appreciated her unique approach to art. She noted: “I have a few repeat clients who buy from me to gift to friends or decorate their properties.”

‘Transmutations’ and to Lunuganga

One of Salome’s most notable projects is her recent installation at Lunuganga, the country estate of the late Bawa. The installation, titled ‘Transmutations,’ is a tribute to Jayasuriya and his deep connection to nature. 

Housed in Jayasuriya’s own small room within de Silva’s home (originally located at Alfred Place, Kollupitiya before its relocation to Lunuganga), Salome put together an exhibition of resin, polymer clay, and wire installations that created a setting reminiscent of a painting together with a studio and library that highlighted Jayauriya’s interest in art and zoology, echoing the way the latter used the space in his pursuit of knowledge and expression as a painting studio and laboratory.

Salome used real and imagined depictions of animate forms often depicted in states of transition and renewal, which drew inspiration from a series of oral histories with family and friends of Jayasuriya, undertaken in the research for this exhibition. 

“The Geoffrey Bawa Trust initially wanted a few insects to coincide with one of the family’s core memories of Anil’s butterfly cocoons in his room,” Salome explained of what formed her sculptures. 

However, the more she got involved with the concept, the project quickly grew beyond its initial scope. “I couldn’t stop producing stuff; I started having all these ideas and just kept going,” she recalled.

Salome’s approach to the ‘Transmutations’ installation was both respectful and imaginative. She was given access to some personal memories of the family, which helped form her work, but was careful not to replicate these memories directly, creating instead something that captured the essence of Jayasuriya’s life and legacy. 

“The idea of Anil’s room to me was a mix of his studio and lab where he collected specimens,” she shared. This, combined with her personal explorations into how the traumatised brain coped with trauma by sometimes creating memories that were illusory, contributed towards shaping much of the work of ‘Transmutations’. 

‘Transmutations’ featured a range of jars and test tubes filled with miniature sculptures that blurred the line between reality and fantasy. “Some of my pieces, some creatures in these test tubes, are not exactly real,” Salome said, adding that this was intentional because she didn’t want to attempt to recreate actual memories and specimens Jayasuriya may have kept. Instead, it was more an attempt to document his legacy of how his family saw him. 

“Meeting Anil’s wife and her telling me that seeing my work brought a few memories back to her was huge for me,” Salome shared of what her most profound experience was of the project. “To actually hear her say that she enjoyed it and that it brought back memories for her was incredibly meaningful.”

Artists come in all forms

As a self-taught artist, Salome shared that she often struggled with ‘not feeling like an artist’ because she hadn’t formally learnt art, but over the years she had trained herself to recognise that there were more ways to become an artist than to study art. That’s not to say that you should just wake up one day and declare yourself an artist, but there are many more ways to educate yourself. 

“Now you have everything at your fingertips,” she advised. “You don’t have to go to an art school to learn anything; you have YouTube, free online courses – everything at your disposal with the internet.”

So for those interested in pursuing art, no matter their age or background, Salome shared one simple piece of advice: “Just start. Start somewhere. Start with a sketchbook and just keep going. It doesn’t have to be pretty or liked; you have to start somewhere for work to evolve,” she said. 

Salome also emphasised the importance of learning about more than the art that you want to create. “At the same time, educate yourself on the business and marketing side of things. Being able to market yourself as a person in this day and age is crucial,” she said. Despite her own dislike for marketing and social media, she recognises their crucial role in an artist’s success.

Community is another key aspect that Salome highlighted when it comes to getting into art. For a long time, she worked alone, creating in her home without much interaction with other artists. Over time, she realised the value of connecting with others in the field. 

“It’s nice to have a community and have friends in the business,” she said, cautioning that while it wouldn’t be possible to gel with everyone, having people to share experiences and advice with could be incredibly beneficial. 

“I still very much consider myself a baby artist. I’m still very new, but I’m also doing pretty well and am fortunate in that sense. It’s important to foster an atmosphere where it’s fine to be new, where you don’t have to depend on the background you come from,” she said, noting that at the end of the day, art was something that was built not just on talent alone but on passion, perseverance, and the courage to follow one’s creative instincts.