K. S.

Selvaraj
THE METAL
ALCHEMIST

Eliza Sarah Tomy Madathil

 K. S. Selvaraj
THE METAL ALCHEMIST
A journey of turning metal into art

Eliza Sarah Tomy Madathil

 CONTENTS

The Studio 5
The Stage 17
The Alchemy 19
The Alchemist 49
The Magic 53
 The Studio
As soon as you turn into Sreekala Road in Vennala, Kochi,
you are greeted with a regular sound of beating metal. As
you follow it, it becomes accompanied by ghazal music.
This takes you to the studio of artist, K.S. Selvaraj.

4 5
Mr. Selvaraj’s toolbox which contains both manual and
power tools. The manual tools contain ones that he
makes himself, bought from a store and made-to-order.
7
 A rare cash box from 1906, which is now used to store copper and
steel rivets, and drill bits. Rivets were often used when welding
was less common.
8
A small furnace, with an electric blower on one end, and ashes from
a work past.

11
 Scraps of Japan sheet metal (right) taken from a laser cutting facility gets
incorporated into some of the designs, and the copper scraps from the
studio (left) which would be used to make alloys in Kaladi.

12
Different discs used in a handheld grinding machine that
help to cut, sand, and buff the metals; matte and smooth.

15
 The Stage
As he hammers the metal, the thick iron disk braces for the
impact while the wooden block absorbs the shock.

16 17
 The Alchemy
One of the few artists in India and perhaps the only artist in
Kerala working with metal sheets, K.S. Selvaraj takes us
through his process of creating a tree using copper. He also
shares his method of creating sculptures by casting metals.

18 19
The basic shape of the leaves are laser cut on a copper
sheet, at a facility in Edayar, because of the large number
required. He usually procures his metal raw materials (iron,
copper, bronze, brass and stainless steel) from Ernakulam
or Irinjalakuda. However, sometimes he is sold an alloy of
copper and brass at the price of pure copper. This is
realized only when he goes to scrap the waste material.

21
Mr. Selavraj draws on the copper sheet using chalk and cuts it with a pair of The flat copper sheet has turned into leaves with the texture and
metal cutters. dimension he added to them.
 Mr. Selvaraj beats the copper sheets into the required shape, along with the
desired texture. While he hammers a blunt chisel to texturize the leaf
(right), the texture of bark is added to the branch using the narrow end of
a hammer’s head (left).
24
 He cuts the excess length of the leaf stalk and at an angle, using a handheld
grinding machine, which helps in welding it easily to the branch.
26
He places the leaf on the branch and uses iron blocks to
elevate and hold the leaf in place as he welds them
together. After welding, a mixture of water and tamarind
paste is applied on the surface which cleans off the
oxidation and other impurities. Another method is to use
acid, but he rarely uses it as the metal reacts easily to it.

29
 Mr. Selvaraj attaches the leaf to the branch (both made of copper) with a
handheld gas welding machine and soldered with a thin copper-to-copper
rod. For larger works, he uses an electric welding machine.
30
He makes a basic drawing, true to size, of the intended sculpture on
the studio floor using chalk. This drawing helps him plan, cut and He uses paint to draw on top of the chalk drawing to make it stay on for
shape the parts easily. longer. It takes him approximately two weeks to complete the whole tree.
He inspects the welded pieces and places them on the drawing to gauge
the changes and additions that needs to be done.
35
He creates the individual leaves, branches, tree trunk and
roots; joining them together to create the final piece of
art. He adds an antique finish, as requested by his client,
through an acid wash followed by heating with a blow
torch. The acid wash is made by adding copper clippings
to nitric acid.
(Photo courtesy: K.S. Selvaraj)

37
For casting his metal sculptures, Mr. Selvaraj initially
makes the sculpture out of clay. After it has dried, he
covers the entire surface with thin sheet layers of wax.
This is followed by covering it with fine clay. The initial
clay sculpture is removed to create a mother mold using
plaster of Paris.

Plaster of Paris mother molds of V.K. Krishnamenon and

Rabrindranath Tagore help him save time and effort.
39
 The inside surface of the wax is also covered with fine clay and connected
to the outer shell. The whole structure is then fired and the wax flows out
through the holes made for it to do so. The clay shell is then superheated,
placed in a hole in the ground and covered with soil. Liquid metal is then
poured in through the holes and left to cool. The casting is usually done at
night, in the midst of friends, family and anyone who is curious to know
about the process. Once it cools down, the clay shell is broken, revealing
the cast sculpture to be cleaned and polished.

Mr. Selvaraj cleans and buffs a sculpture of Tagore.

(Photo courtesy: K.S. Selvaraj)

40
A silicone mold made from one of Mr. Selvaraj’s clay sculpture, with
all the details in place. This helps in making the mother mold using
plaster of Paris.
43
 Although he does not do a lot of etching on metal, he does keep some etching
liquid handy, should the need arise. The deep brown liquid is rocked back and
forth in a tray with the metal to help speed the process up.
44
The steel metal is etched on the areas that has come in
contact with the liquid while the taped areas show the
originally smooth surface of the metal.
47
 The Alchemist
K.S. Selvaraj, the sole artist in the studio, prefers an open work
environment, talking to people about his work and sharing
knowledge. While he does most of his work by himself, he does
take help from outside while working on large projects.

“You should not fear iron, but the iron should fear you”, words
from his father still stay in his mind as he works

48 49
 A portrait, made by embossing on a sheet of brass, of M.R.D. Dattan. After
his schooling, Mr. Selvaraj was unable to attend art school and joined his
father, Mr. Sreedharan, and learnt welding and casting at the automobile
workshop. Later, Mr. Dattan, recognizing the sculptor in him, became his
guru and rekindled his artistic talent.
50
 The Magic
K.S. Selvaraj’s portfolio boasts of his work in metal casting,
sculpture, embossing and clay work. His regular clients
include interior designers and architects. He enjoys a
challenge and doing complex work, which is reciprocated by
the designers. His clients are mostly from Kerala, but he has
created artworks for those abroad as well.

A dual toned sculpture of Buddha made with copper and

brass (left).
(Photo courtesy: K.S. Selvaraj)

52 53
 The ‘not-so-safe’ Safety Pin, made of iron, makes you wonder what the use
of a safety pin becomes if it cannot be closed.
54
An artwork, made of iron, which represents the attacking and
demolishing of the Babri Masjid.
57
 A prototype for one of his recent works which featured a
signboard made of stainless steel.
58
An artwork, made of iron, representing the worn-out footwear of a
farmer and a sapling of hope sprouts from one of the holes. This was
inspired by the Punjab farmers’ protests.
61
62 63
 Another artwork inspired by the farmer’s protests (seen
in the previous pages as well). The replica of a police
whistle replaces the whistle of a cooker while the clay
figurine of a bound man placed in the stove interprets
the lack of value for man. The handprints on the iron
box were created by a rapid process of rusting using salt
water, and then arresting it to preserve its beauty by
coating the entire surface with a thin layer of oil.
64
 An unfinished sculpture of Gandhi is seen at the entrance of the studio. The
government funding for this work got caught up when the ruling party
changed. Mr. Selvaraj says that when the government changes, the new one
sometimes says that there is not enough money for the work that was
commissioned by the previous one. There has been instances where he was not
fully paid for his work, except for the token amount.

An incomplete foot for the same sculpture is seen inside the studio (next page).

66
68 69
The Reading Girl is one of Mr. Selvaraj’s most famous artworks,
catching the eye of everyone who passes by his studio . Made using
sheets of metal, he often receives orders to recreate the life-like
sculpture (seen in the previous page as well).
71
72