He portrays the cosmos in his drawings because he finds true freedomin it, so needed by each graffiti artist. Recently, he has started teaching beginners how to make an impression through their art at the first free graffiti school in this country.

Damian Nikolov is just 25 with a degree in chemistry and microbiology. He chose to leave a position in an international software company because he didn't have enough time to draw. He discovered graffiti art as a teenager and today he is professionally involved in finding interior and exterior design solutions, drawing on various materials – metal, plaster, plastic.

Two years ago, he decided to set up his own school, in order to teach newcomers to graffiti art.

“The idea of ​​a graffiti school for free in Varna is to shorten the long and difficult path of young artists. Instead of drawing their tags and drawings on walls, we aim to help them realize if this art was truly for them. Thanks to sponsors, we have materials and boards provided at the school. Not only children come to us, but also older people with some knowledge – people drawing portraits and car decorations, or others dealing with graphic design and calligraphy. My job is to show them how to work with a spray can. Sometimes we work on joint projects and when I have big orders, such as 100 square meters of graffiti, I get some of my students to help me.”

At the beginning Damian was inspired by the graffiti he saw in his native city of Dobrich and started to make his first sketches. He drew his first graffiti in an abandoned place, using one or two colors, as young artists usually cannot afford more. He likes letters but we asked him if these letters are linked to messages?

“It doesn't matter what you write – the way you do it is important, because style is your trademark,” he says. “In other words, the aim is not so much about sending a message, but rather about marking territory and leaving a mark. Messages relate more to street art where an idea that serves to communicate with people exists. The process here is one-sided as some graffiti artists in urban environment are a little bit selfish and just want to say: ‘I'm the one doing this and I've been here’. But this attitude is also part of the graffiti culture.”

The works that the artist is most proud of always depict stars and planets. On the facade of the school for children with disabilities in Varna one can see a shadow of a bird that contains the whole cosmos and represents infinite freedom.

Space is also present in the Varna underpass on Dubrovnik Street, recently painted by graffiti artists at an international festival organized by Damian.

“Through this festival I wanted to showed that graffiti culture can be legal, beautiful, conceptualized and organized,” the artist says. “I think there should be spaces left for people to draw on. Every artist needs space and materials. Otherwise, the urban environment is always cleaned up of unwanted drawings. People start to have negative opinion about graffiti when they see bad drawings, or drawings that they do not understand. Sometimes the artists themselves are also to blame, as they draw fast works just for the adrenaline rush. In my opinion, this would never stop but the idea is to reduce these raids over public buildings and people’s houses.”

English: Alexander Markov