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I have been blowing my nose so much recently due to an unexpected bout with hayfever, that I think I opened a new sinus in my head. I don’t mean that I re-opened an existing one with my nostril pressure skills, but rather, created a new cavern between my eyes, brain, and right above my mouth. It sounded like a scene from Genesis– whooshes and the eruption of new life. Unfamiliar and atavistic sounds came from my head, despite the fact that my mouth was tightly shut. That’s what I get for reaching to the floor for the tissue box, and blowing my nose before I stand up straight again.

About two weeks ago Mitsugu Onishi invited me to the gallery opening of his student’s exhibition. The show was in a cafe in Sendagi, an old down-town area in Tokyo. I had some of my photos with me and once again the first thing most people commented on was the point of view from where they are taken (about 195cm from the ground). Onishi san said that this is my “weapon”, and a few days later someone else said that this vantage point in my photographs was a double edged sword. I guess the violent analogies work, since Araki says that Photography is Murder. Come to think of it, some of my friends have cell phones that make a gunshot sound when you take a picture. I think that this is an option that more cameras need to have, at least when taking portraits.

This is Rie and her engagement-Rolex. Instead of a ring, she and her boyfriend chose the luxury timepiece route to express their future matrimonal comittment.