. I want you to remove the filter of being an actor and see me as a photographer.
I found your father's camera and that's when I started taking pictures.
Ando:I found a camera that my father used to take pictures of me when I was little , and at first I used it to take pictures.
How did you get hooked from there?
Ando:When I was a child, I took pictures with a Polaroid and was impressed by the way the moment and the atmosphere of the place came to life. I liked that a lot, and it felt comfortable to me .
. You still like the atmosphere of the moment when it is cut out, and that hasn't changed, has it?
Ando:I haven't changed. Even now, while taking pictures, I think, "I want to take more pictures. The same is true of my videos. I also go to the publishers directly, but they see me as an actor. I go directly to publishers, but I can't help but be seen as an actor. Of course, that can't be helped, but I want people to remove that filter and see me as a photographer and writer.
. When I read various interviews, it seems to me that you are very stoic, that you are not afraid to take on challenges, and that you move in a reactionary and impulsive manner. It is also very challenging for you to ask people to look at you as a photographer, without considering your career as an actor.
Ando:. When I come up with an idea, I am the type of person who wants to act on it immediately and give it shape. When I take a project to a publishing house, there are many times when they initially respond well to the idea, only to reject it later. So I sometimes clash with the person in charge of the project. Because I really want to do the project. I am a very honest person.
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. When I look at your photos, there is a venom in the beauty, and I don't feel that there is a gap between the two. I think you are really stoic.
Ando:I once had the opportunity to photograph the cover of an author's book for Shueisha, and the person in charge of the book was surprised to see me taking such pictures. He said, "It's beautiful, and I can feel the sense of life and death, and I can also see blood and violence in it. . It is a worldview that comes from my own thoughts and experiences.
Do your experiences include your experiences as an actor?
Ando:. Everything inside of me has already come out. I have been taking pictures that I love for almost 20 years, and I wanted to do it as a job, but there was a time when I wondered what it would be like to wear two hats at the same time.
However, I had worked with extraordinary directors and had been photographed by various photographers who are masters of their craft, and that is an experience that not just anyone can have, and there was so much I could absorb from that experience. I thought that there were photos that only I could take, and that I could compete in that world. It's not a totally different profession, and since I am only interested in creative work, I thought I could be a photographer as well.
Then, about three years ago, I showed my photos to the organizer of the Tokyo Collection. He really liked them, and from there I photographed backstage for about two years. The editor of "GQ" saw my photos and offered me a job as a photographer. Before that, I had been assisting various photographers as an assistant.
. So your various experiences have given you confidence.
Ando:I thought I should shape my desire to take pictures and my confidence in my ability to take pictures into action. . because I love it.
