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I'm Ken Sone. I'm a writer.
I'm Nagoshi. I'm a photographer.
[HOW THEY MET]
The first time I met Nagoshi was...
I was working for BURST magazine and he came in to show me his photographs.
I was living in Osaka at the time, and
I hadn't shown my works to any publications yet.
I was so poor, I hitchhiked from Osaka to Tokyo.
I slept in parks and cold-called every publication I could think of.
I mostly got rejected, but I was desperate to get into BURST.
So when he agreed to meet me, I went immediately.
That's when I showed him my pictures of the illegal squatters in the US.
- You may not remember what you said... - No I don't.
He casually gave me 20 rolls of reversal film,
and told me, "Go take more pictures."
I was stunned. Then he asked where I was staying.
I said I was camping out, and he let me stay over for a few days.
Wow, I don't remember that at all. But I'm not surprised about the film.
Tons of photographers come to me with their work.
But he's the only one who slept at my house.
I know I'm a nice guy, but I don't invite just anyone over!
I let him stay because I knew he was talented, and I wanted to work with him.
I'm not going to open my house up to anybody.
Talent is rare.
So when you were shooting the squatters, were you actually living with them too?
- Yes. - I see.
That's what I like about you.
I won't forget how awestruck I was when I first saw BURST at 16.
It left such an impression on me.
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I was making documentaries back then, and I really wanted to show them my pictures.
And when I finally did, I got a positive reaction. I'll never forget that moment.
As an editor, he really is one-of-a-kind.
Last year, I went to India.
In recent years, I would use a fixer when I shoot overseas,
because things tend to go much more smoothly.
But actually, doing everything yourself and fumbling your way through a situation is...
It's a more memorable experience and the photos mean more to you.
So I went to India alone.
I found this circus that I wanted to shoot, and I followed them around.
But the boss wanted money.
He kept bugging me, so I began sneaking in from the back.
I befriended circus performers living behind the circus tents.
They let me live with them while I took their pictures.
I got some great shots. But shortly after, I was literally kicked out by the Indian boss.
He called me a beggar. I was so pissed off!
He even threw a rock at me. I ran like mad.
My favorite animal is the hippo.
When I told Miho Kawasaki, the chief editor of TATTOO BURST, she laughed at me.
But then Nagoshi said he liked hippos too, and I felt it must be a guy thing.
- They're amphibians! - And what can beat that?
It can run at 45km per hour and is the strongest animal on land.
They're so strong.
But this circus hippo was painted and was made to open its mouth.
Yeah, the hippo opening its mouth was the highlight of the circus show.
He did three shows a day, and at showtime,
the hippo would get whacked out of his swamp.
And it would slowly come out and... we're all wondering what's next.
And when it gets to center stage, it opens its huge mouth.
And we all applaud.
Then, it snaps its mouth shut and is whacked back to the swamp.
That's it! Three times a day!
And it'll do so everyday, until it dies.
It made me feel such love for it.
But they said the hippo chomped off a staff's head once.
So it does get frustrated sometimes, poor thing.
But Sone and I were joking around saying "Well, at least it has a job, huh?"
First, the pictures were great. Plus, there was this funny anecdote about the performance.
I couldn't get over the poor hippo getting whacked..
So that's the story behind the hippo. The other one is Indonesia, right?
There's a volcanic crater called the Blue Fire.
The burning sulfur makes it shine blue.
There were loads of laborers collecting the sulfur.
I spent about a month around New Year's taking their photos.
It looks like Mars in a sci-fi movie from the sixties or something.
I thought it was super cool.
This was our first-ever collaborative piece.
Of course, we'd always been working together as editor and photographer.
But this time, I was part of the creative process too.
Obviously I was familiar with the photos. The challenge was how to compete with them.
I was inspired more by him, the creator, than by the photographs themselves.
I had to write a piece that would equally showcase my abilities to the fullest.
My text isn't an explanation of the photos.
In fact, it's obvious that the photos don't relate to the text at all.
That's the style I went for.
When I saw my photos alongside her text,
I worried that I might get overshadowed.
You came in for the kill.
I was amazed by how our collaboration turned out.
I was amazed by how our collaboration turned out.
I mean, we're the ones who made this, but...
I mean, we're the ones who made this, but...
The great thing about my style is
even if my portraits don't look anything like the person, I can get away with it.
even if my portraits don't look anything like the person, I can get away with it.
- I see...
I essentially want to show us together.
Like we're lesbian sisters or something.
Like we're lesbian sisters or something.
Your drawings are so powerful.
I didn't think we'd get so...
so deep into this.
When I see a pregnant woman
I feel like they're doing something incredible.
I feel like they're doing something incredible.
- It must be that you love your mom.
My favorite animal is the hippo.
I think about that circus hippo made to open its mouth three times a day,
I think about that circus hippo made to open its mouth three times a day,
and I feel such love for it.