Guys, I would love to show you the whole thing in one bit here, but I took over 200 shots of it, and it’s simply too much in one thing, because I have to modify each one of them and then upload and label and so on. So it has to be in two parts.

And so this is what happened. Chiaki had an abortion and Starfish went along with her to do it, and she asked me, because she and everyone’s dog know by now that I am doing this documentary on the people in the hotel, for later (in case some will be famous, later on…), and some think that will be a stepping stone in thier own path, anyways, so they took me along, and even in the clinic they let me take pictures, not during but right after she was done, which I will show in part II.

I knew Chiaki was in the first weeks of a pregnancy from my first photo-shoot with her, because she was show-smoking and claimed she was ‘not inhaling’ and so we came about that topic that day. I had no idea who the dad was, because at the time anyways she was certainly not involved with Starfish, and let’s be brutally honest and direct here for a minute: Starfish was born as a girl and is going through a sex chance right as we speak here to become a man, and medicine is simply not ready for that yet to make someone like Starfish a biological father.

I asked Chiaki if there was any particular reason for her decision, like if she was sick in any way, I was thinking Zika or something perhaps, God knows, and I tried to be tactful, boy… Not that she said much in words per se, but the energy loading up after I asked that…. So she said, with fiery eyes, something to that extent “Yes, I have. It’s plain and simple: I have no money to raise a child. I’ve been thinking it through and it would be lovely to have a kid and show him the world, but sadly so I live in a hotel, my family back home has broken all ties with me, in fact: by letter with collected signatures a year ago, only the dog didn’t sign and the reason she didn’t is probably just that she can’t hold a pen in her paw; I have no reliable income, and I see no way how all of a sudden that is going to change for the better. So there’s gonna be no baby and that’s that, surely not on my own. Any more questions?”

Nope, Chiaki. All questions answered. Probably the wrong moment to suggest condoms, anyways I guess Chiaki learned her lesson already. And I thought she is right. Laila is pretty well off, although she always talks about that she is broke and needs money and stuff it is BIG BS if you watch her expenses and all that, and I am starting to think the reason why she’s staying in the hotel is not money but company and the fact that Vincent gives them the place super cheap, and anyways: Vincent would never set them on the street, of course not, if money really would ever run out for them, but Chiaki is a different story. I guess the case of Viola is still in people’s mind, we are not sure, but there is a bit of a rumor Vincent kicked her out, although we don’t know for sure and we don’t know why that would be, but it brings the concept in people’s mind; without that people would be mostly rather carefree, Billy perhaps the exception, who’s happy mask sits certainly more loosely than those of the others.

And off we go to the clinic.

These are the shots of us waiting until Chiaki was called in. I guess, it was pretty nice of Starfish to be supportive, but when Chiaki’s name finally was called he did get noticeably uneasy and Chiaki anyways wanted to get it over with ASAP, no doubt about that.

Josiane Keller “Chiaki and Starfish in the waiting room” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Chiaki and Starfish waiting” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Chiaki is being called in” (2016)

Josiane Keller “waiting room magazines” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Chiaki and Starfish 3” (2016)

 Josiane Keller “Starfish with Chiaki” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Chiaki going in” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Starfish waiting” (2016)

Josiane Keller “Starfish waiting 7” (2016)

The waiting room had this drastic Grant Wood print (“American Gothic”) hanging right between the sofa and the door to the clinic. It’s a pretty famous and popular painting, but I had never seen it in a sexual context, not until I came to this waiting room, anyways.

Grant Wood “American Gothic print” (1930)