We had the good fortune of connecting with Damian Noszkowicz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Damian, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

It’s important to challenge yourself and take risks. When I was in my early twenties I moved to Paris without any knowledge of the French language and with very few contacts. I just had a gut feeling that it’s a place for me to be in and I didn’t have any plan B. I’ve never regretted any decisions I had made because they got me to the where I am today. It’s a cliché to say it but you always end up regretting the risks you didn’t take.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’m a Polish photographer and a poet based in Paris where I moved nine years ago to work as a freelance photographer. In 2020 when the pandemic struck, I wasn’t able to work and I used my free time to go through my personal archive, which included not only photographs but also the poems that I had been writing since I was 13 and I discovered between my poetry and photos a common thread that had hitherto escaped me. This is how GOSSAMER was born, a book assembling 150 photos and 43 poems that illustrate my world of the past seven years and reflect my emotions triggered by the beauty of the male body, the austere landscapes of Iceland, the images of my home country that haunted my youth, moments of my new life in Paris or scenes of nature. GOSSAMER was published in March 2022, accompanied by a solo show in Paris. The same month I’ve received the Vendôme Circle prize for my photographic work. In June GOSSAMER was shortlisted for the Rencontres d’Arles Book Award in photo-text category. Afterwards I participated in a group show at Rabouan-Moussion Gallery in Paris and at the moment I’m preparing a new solo show with Galerie Intervalle that is opening in September in Paris. The process of making GOSSAMER was crucial to my career because looking back at all the work I’ve done helped me realise who I am as an artist, a question I was struggling to find the answer to. The book is an intimate poetic and visual memoir of my twenties, chronicling the journey of a young artist to his self-discovery.
I always say that I write poetry with words and light. My style can be defined as an embodiment of poetry in photography, vulnerable, melancholic, full of metaphors, a visualisation of my inner journey.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Let’s start with Café de Flore which is the place where I always go and write in the morning. The café has been frequented by the greatest artists and thinkers ever since Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir made it their regular hangout. This is perhaps the most iconic café in of all of Paris, visited by both the locals and the tourists. I always order their black coffee served in their signature tableware.

Alternatively, I love having coffee and something to eat at Pâtisserie Viennoise which is located near Odéon metro station. Frequented by students and professors of Sorbonne, it’s been around for almost a hundred years! It’s very low-key and has this local feeling to it – you can almost feel like one of the students of this historic university. I’d recommend ordering a hot chocolate and an apple strudel.

We would need to go to Librairie Galigliani which is my favourite bookshop in Pairs, located opposite the Tuileries Garden. They have a large selection of English books as well as fine arts books. I never leave it empty-handed! The best spot to sit and read is Jardin du Palais-Royal which is just a short walk away.

The Louvre is a must. I go there often to photograph sculptures. My favourite is ‘The Wrestlers’ by Philippe Magnier which inspired one of the poems in my first book GOSSAMER (the poem title is ‘primeval wrestlers’).

One of my favourite less-known museums is Musée de la Vie romantique (Museum of Romantic Life) which used to be a center of an intellectual and artistic life in Paris, frequented by George Sand, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt and Charles Dickens. If the weather is lovely you should have lunch in a little café in the courtyard, it’s so atmospheric.

If you’d like to see a performance go to the Paris Opéra. It’s very expensive if you want to have good seats but it’s definitely worth it! There is no better place to see perhaps the best opera and ballet performances in the whole world.

My favourite spot for dinner is Le Richer in the 9th arrondissement. The food is a revisited French cuisine, the staff is very nice and they always have a great playlist there. Another one is La Méditerranée which is a perfect choice if you feel like having seafood and oysters. It used to be frequented by Jean Cocteau who designed its logo, as well as many other artists and celebrities.

If you’re looking for local and cheaper alternatives that aren’t tourist traps I would highly recommend Au Pied de Fouet on Rue Saint-Benoît (traditional French cuisine) and Crêperie Brocéliande located in Montmartre.

If you feel like having a cocktail, go to Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers which has a very lovely atmosphere. Otherwise any café with a terrace can be lovely if you’re in a good company! Alternatively, you can grab a bottle of wine from a nearby natural wine shop and head to the river and watch the sun setting over the Parisian cityscape.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

I am very aware that every person who gave me an opportunity, hired me, shared my work, bought my books, artworks, etc. had a real impact on my career. As an artist you always face rejection and it makes me appreciate any chance and support I’m given. It’s artist not yet established that need your support the most.

There is one person who I met many years ago who believed in me long before I started believing in myself, my best friend Philippe Menager who owns the most exclusive real estate agency in Paris (Menager Hug). He gave me my first work assignments that eventually helped me build my life in Paris by introducing me to his contacts.

Other than that I would like to give a shoutout to the book that had the biggest impact on my artistic development. It’s ‘Ariel’ by Sylvia Plath which I discovered when I was nineteen and it made me realise me how being vulnerable, authentic and raw can be so powerful.

Website: http://www.damiannoszkowicz.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damiannoszkowicz/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-noszkowicz-91505089/

Other: Link to my book GOSSAMER: https://www.gossamereditions.com/shop/p/gossamer-by-damian-noszkowicz

Image Credits
All the photographs provided were taken by me.

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