Noémie Goudal: When Art Burns, Melts and Dissolves

What drives an artist to build vast illusions in real landscapes only to film them as they burn, melt and dissolve?In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley sits down in Paris with French conceptual artist Noémie Goudal, whose photographs, films and performances probe how landscapes are formed, transformed and imagined. They trace her path from a darkroom hobby in late-1990s Paris, to Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and to her shortlisting for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 at Centre Pompidou.Noémie unpacks the rigour behind series such as Cascade, Phoenix, Anima and the Artangel-commissioned The Story of Fixity, currently touring to Le Portique in Le Havre for the 2026 Normandie Impressionniste festival. She reflects on collaboration with director Maëlle Poésy and aerial artist Chloé Moglia, the role of paleoclimatology and the water cycle in her research, and what it means to build a first monograph spanning 17 years of practice ahead of her 2027 Norton Museum survey.(00:00) - Welcome to Compelling (02:07) - Growing up between Architecture and Theatre (04:56) - St Martin's, the Royal College and Finding Space in London (06:20) - Cascade and the Birth of Constructed Photography (10:34) - Why Real-Time Illusions Matter More than Photoshop (13:59) - Building Anima with Maëlle Poésy and Chloé Moglia (20:28) - Paleoclimatology, Water and Letting Research Click (26:45) - Building a First Monograph across 17 Years (33:52) - Inside the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 (39:56) - Influences from Theatre to Marfa and Las Pozas (42:46) - Hard Work over Talent and the Discipline of Finishing (51:15) - Le Portique, Pola Foundation and What Comes Next Noémie Goudal: Noémie Goudal is a French conceptual artist whose photographs, films, performances and sculptures construct illusionistic interventions in the landscape, underpinned by research at the intersection of ecology, anthropology and paleoclimatology. She graduated with an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2010, after studying graphic design at Central Saint Martins. Goudal was shortlisted for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 at Centre Pompidou, where she premiered the films Grand Vide and Supra Strata. Her Artangel-commissioned installation The Story of Fixity is touring to Le Portique in Le Havre for Normandie Impressionniste 2026, with further exhibitions at the Pola Foundation in Japan and a major monographic survey opening at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, in 2027.Visit Noémie GoudalKaty Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships.Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art.Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. This year, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris.Visit Cahiers d’ArtArt direction by Eddie Harrop StudioWebsite and Production by Story Ninety-Four