Skin, Book

Damien Dufresne comes from the fashion world, from the advertising industry, from art direction and, more precisely, from the make-up world, and, of course, his work as a photographer has been influenced by all these experiences. Speaking about his work, Damien Dufresne says that "photography came to [him] without really deciding, as the rest of [his] life actually: things have happened nearly naturally. When I was a make-up artist, I was saying the same thing: make-up came to me and, paradoxically, I knew, deep inside, that it was what I always wanted to do. People are telling me that I use make-up as a painter and I take it as a compliment. But this isn’t true: the painter starts from a white canvas. I start my work with a person, with someone who lives, who breathes, who inspires. The choice of the model is paramount: he wears the make-up and he brings life to it.
To transform, with make-up, a model into a character without betraying his personality, or to use his personality to create a character, even to change the way he looks at himself in the mirror.

Then, comes the time when he appears on the set. I look in the camera and this is the birth of what I had assumed. Then, begins an intimate moment with the model, a seduction phase between him and the camera, a moment during which he and I have no other choice than to trust each other, a moment during which he surprises me and I capture the moment; and magic can start.”

Damien Dufresne has been a make-up artist for the past thirty years.