Nayla Cannamela

Nayla Cannamela (born in Beirut, Lebanon) is an artist based in London who works mainly in papier-mâché. She has used it for over thirty years, with recycling central to her practice. She builds each piece from layers of reclaimed paper and cardboard. She likens this slow, repetitive work to preparing or cooking food. Earlier pieces were painted in bright colours or coated with Japanese lacquer, a method from her travels in Asia. Newer work leaves the cardboard raw; she soaks it in water and peels it apart.

In Paris in the 2000s she showed manuscript collages, decorative plates and papier-mâché headpieces for a catwalk. Offering / A bounty of fish pairs cardboard platters with papier-mâché fish forms. It began with a sanniye, a dented tinplate dish from her family's Beirut home. Neo-Decollage, in cardboard, glue and gold drops, honours the poster artists of Les Nouveaux Réalistes. Steps, in peeled and gilded cardboard, recalls engraved copper trays.

She trained as a mathematician. In 2025 she joined group shows at St Margaret's House and Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, and Galleria Antitesi, Turin. Espressioni dell'Anima followed at the Museo della Casa, Mondovì (2026). With Artists of Beirut she showed at Arthaus and Rebirth Beirut Space, Beirut (2026). She is a member of IAPMA, the International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists.