My next subject doesn’t conform to what society calls beautiful instead she exudes a confidence in her own skin, she doesn’t wear the clothes that society has said are appropriate for her gender, instead choosing to master her own style. She needs no mask of make-up because her face represents her soul and that is every bit beautiful. This woman had everyone enchanted over the past couple of days by her creativity, humour, kindness and ability to listen, share and spread her warmth around the room.
I wasn’t alone in my awe of her work, or her view on the world that she portrays in her art, it was quite captivating and the most attractive feature despite her brilliance was her complete lack or ego and her enviably humble disposition.
With Marta’s brilliance comes a story, she cannot capture the world in the light that she sees without experiencing the life she has lived, I saw lots of pain in her deep brown eyes that told a thousand stories..I felt I could have imagined some of her answers before she had even spoken to me.
Name: Marta Kochanek
Occupation: Artist/Photographer
1.Where were you born and raised.
Poland, raised in a small town called Rawicz. I moved to the UK in 2005.
‘I grew up in this small town with my sister, who is a best friend of mine and I like the fact that she is very close to me now. I have another sister who is fourteen years younger, I am still looking for this good connection with her the distance and the age gap makes it a problem and we don’t see each other, I don’t see her growing, I don’t experience the fact that she has her first boyfriend so I can’t support her somehow, I can’t be the older sister that will always be somewhere close to her to be there, to help. So this actually hurts me.’
‘My childhood I was very much an outsider, I did prefer to spend time on my own, I was a big thinker, people have routes, paths, I was always following my own path. I did have friends and I was always the most honest friend to have and I still have those friends we still have contact.’
‘I had been drawing, I had been painting, I was looking for something to explore myself. When you are this kind of person that actually tries to be hidden you are looking for ways to express yourself because I was always hidden somewhere, it was my personal choice, it was my personality and I am still this kind of person.’
2.Tell me a childhood memory.
‘I remember my Grandma taking me to one particular coffee shop for orange/red jelly dessert. I will never forget it. I can see it, I can smell it, I can see the dark room in which we are sitting. I remember my Grandma being very young and she is always so warm and so cosy. I am so glad I have her middle name which is Theresa, I will always have this. When I was with my Grandma I just felt safe. My Grandma is very important in my life, my mum and my Grandma are two of the most important people, women in my life, obviously my sister because she is my friend and Barbara because she is my partner. I became a human when I was a kid and these two women made me who I am in my life.’
3.What is your favourite season and why.
‘Autumn because of colours and for the kind of light that we see. Spring because of the feel of the life, it is how I understand life when the spring is coming. This smell says the life is coming. I become a different person in Spring I am more alive.’
4.Tell me about someone you love.
‘Someone I love, who became the best friend of mine, is a person who supports me in so many ways and the person who trusts me unconditionally, this is Barbara. I love her for the fact that she lets me be myself she is not a person who would put me in a cage and ask me to shut up, I have had this in previous relationships. I would never ever hurt her, there is no way I could ever do something against her. She became my Mum, my daughter, my partner..she always cares for me with breakfasts and dinners, she cares whether I am cold or hot or whatever. I never had this in my life, I have had a rough time in my life. I left my parents home when I was 19, I have been travelling the world since I was 19, there were times when I didn’t have food to eat. There were times when I had no money and I was too scared or proud, perhaps to shy to ask for help.’
‘Because I was very fat when I was a kid, my Dad wasn’t nice to me about being fat and I would never ask him for money for food, I would never ask him for something to eat.’
This relationship that was so detrimental to Marta throughout her life and has effected her until this day. I do feel a huge responsibility as a parent to not mark my children, we are all human and not perfect but to damage a human being, one so vulnerable who relies on you for safety and nurturing makes me feel completely bewildered.
5.What words of wisdom do you have for the reader about life?
‘I had quite a lot of time on my own and I spent this time thinking about life, appreciate yourself and make sure you are the most important person in your life. Love and respect everyone else but make sure you understand how important you are to this world to be.’
6.Dreams for the future.
‘To be healthy, I have found love, I have found passion, God gave me this talent, I can honestly say I have a talent. For years I would never say that, I would never say I have a talent. God gave me this to explore and I am doing that.’
I am excited to share this woman’s words with you. She is inspirational. To survive physical and emotional abuse and be this sweet, loving person is something to be thankful for. She wears her scars but they have given her the ammunition to be this incredible artist and I believe her work will help so many people. She represents people with true honesty in her images, there is darkness, frailty, imperfection and she makes it all beautiful.
She said all that needed to be said, I hope her words and face touch you as they did me.
