By Paul Reitano
We all make mistakes. Say, maybe your wife asks you to refill the windshield wiper fluid in the car after the refill light’s been on for three weeks. You waddle over to the car, pop the hood, and confidently pour half a gallon of windex into the coolant reservoir — all the way to the tippy-top. You will make the excuse that you didn’t have your glasses on, but even if you did have your glasses on, you wouldn’t have known the difference. Because you are an idiot. You have the car towed to C&H downtown, wait at the library for two hours while someone competent drains the coolant system, then give them three hundred dollars for the indignity.
But that was yesterday, and in time mistakes like that fade along with other memories we choose not to remember. What about mistakes of greater consequence? The ones you live with every day — do they ruin your life? Redirect purpose? Help find meaning? For Nabil West, owner of the N. West Gallery on Main Street, one missed step nearly cost him his life — but he took that mistake and let it refocus his life in a profound way.
Me: So what was life like before Connecticut?
Nabil: We lived in Williamsburg. I was a music producer, DJ, and lead singer for an Indie Rock band.
Me: Band name?
Nabil: Mar La Singer. We were totally unheard of.
Me: Maybe that explains why you never made it big — no one ever heard you.
Nabil: Possibly.
Me: Brooklyn must’ve given you some nice food memories, though.
Nabil: I lived off the Graham L stop in Williamsburg. There was a mom-and-pop pasta shop, Savinos. It was definitely one of Williamsburg’s best kept secrets; small operation, mid-block surrounded by residential buildings. It was easy to miss walking by — but the pasta was incredible!
Me: And now you’re in Fairfield County, where a misguided Alfredo costs 35 bucks.
Nabil: It’s one of the reasons I’m doing a lot of cooking at home these days. Also, I’m vegetarian and it’s just easier.
Me: My wife is a vegetarian but when the moon is full, she eats bacon. Are you that type of vegetarian?
Nabil: No meat for me. I have a list of sixty or so dishes on my phone. I know the recipes by heart at this point.
Me: What about your family — are they also stuck with the beans and kale?
Nabil: No, I’m pretty good in the kitchen, so most of the time, I’m making two meals.
Me: What do you do for a living?
Nabil: I’m a fine art photographer and I own the N. West Gallery in New Canaan.
Me: Origin story?
Nabil: I started shooting in 2009 after I … fell off a roof.
Me: Like a roof roof?
Nabil. You know in Brooklyn, how instead of hanging out in the backyard, you’re hanging out on peoples’ roofs?
Me: Oh wow, like a building roof.
Nabil: I reached down to pick something up, stumbled, then fell all the way down.
Me: Did you think that was it?
Nabil: There was a moment when I was looking at the ceiling of the ambulance and I thought it was the last thing I’d ever see.
Me: But it wasn’t.
Nabil: I was in intensive care for eleven days, went through a ton of reconstructive surgeries. And once I started to come out of it, I just had this new appreciation for the world’s beauty. Sounds cliché but it’s how it all happened. I was looking around at art, nature — just thinking of how beautiful everything was around me. And I started shooting.
Me: What specifically did you want to capture?
Nabil: I began to travel the world. I would research a location before I got there. I used Google Earth and an app called Sky Portal to set up my specific location and shoot a very unique moment in time. Say I wanted to shoot the Italian Alps. I would think, You know what would be cool is if I shot it with the Milky Way behind it. You know what’d be cool is if I shot it with the Milky Way behind it, and with three other planets in that shot. There is a moment where you can capture it all — you just have to be there for it.
Me: Tell me about N. West Gallery.
Nabil: It’s a fine art gallery. I think it has a very NYC sensibility to it, in terms of the works and the vibe and atmosphere.
Me: What will I find in there right now?
Nabil: We have a show coming up in March called Soulscapes by David Susan. It’s portrait and landscape photography from around the world. His portrait work is amazing. David has this uncanny ability to connect with people from vastly different cultures. You have to really see it to get it — it’s in the eyes.
Me: OK, you’ve just sold a piece and you want to celebrate with a nice lunch. Where do you go?
Nabil: Chef Prasad, no contest. It’s not just the food but the experience of being there. There’s nothing else like it in town. You walk through the door and once you’re in, there’s all this ornate trim and molding, with these blue and white walls. Spices are categorized in massive cylinders on what feels like an elongated kitchen counter. It almost makes you feel like you’re walking into someone’s home. They have these big tables and you’re likely sharing it with a family or a couple you’d never met before. But by the end of the meal you end up having had a great conversation with them. It’s a very dinner-party sensibility.
Me: What’s the last great thing you ate there?
Nabil: Two dishes stand out. The Onion Bahajia, which is like the best possible version of onion rings. And the Shrimp Gassi, which is shrimp cooked in roasted coconut, coriander, and coconut milk. It’s coconuty and it’s spicy.
Me: Spicy, spicy?
Nabil: Like, for real spicy.
Me: Noted.
Nabil: It had me on the edge. But I mean, that’s where I like it.
Me: Indeed. Thanks for the time.
N. West Gallery
70 Main St. New Canaan, CT
Thurs-Sat. 12-6pm
Soulscapes by David Sussan
March 22-April 19
Info@nwestgallery.com
