87 get some serious dope. To make it even more interesting, our goal was to score some for free – because that’s the real stunt. So obviously, when a guy with dreadlocks approached us, we told him that rather than selling us stuff, he should take us to the kingpin. Half an hour later, in the back of a big BMW, we convinced the Asian big boss to provide us with two small samples of their finest product, the one he called "The Gorbachev.” Since we got out at a McDonald’s, we decided to wait there until the effects would kick in. After waiting 10 minutes, nothing happened. At the 15-minute mark, Szabó cursed the bastard, cheating Malaysian, but right then, we both noticed a beautifully decorated Indian elephant standing in line at the counter. How we got back to the airport is still a mystery, probably by taxi. But the blurred neon lights, the silhouettes of buildings, and people stayed with me. This will have significance later linking to my Brazilian pictures. I was hoping we'd get to something related to Brazil… – Very much so; if you look at the pictures of my Brazilian period, these blurred movements and almost frozen faces characterize them. It's all based on the fact that at the time, I was shooting on Leica film with a Hasselblad XPan. I was very interested in the carnival as a subject. Women, the pervasive eroticism, the fact that conventions disappear during the festival, the social barriers – very much present in Brazil – are broken down, and the euphoria of dance and freedom emerges. I wanted to capture all this somehow. But I had to get close, find enough light, and work from a tripod because of the long exposure.
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