When I spotted him hunched over a table in the bookstore's furthest back corner, he was buried behind a pile of asian snack food and very stoicly at work inking a Japanese cartoon monster in a fan's recently purchased copy.
At my turn, I took the chance to ask him what he missed most about Tokyo, to which he replied bluntly: "Designer fruit. A $200 cantaloupe."
Each installation and character a depiction of a woman you might know, or think you’ve met before. I ended up staying long enough to see the performance twice, which only deepened the sense of a fragmented story looping not just on screens but in real time, unfolding all around us. The scenes eventually converged — the characters came together, dancing, raving — before it all reset and began again.
With my film camera in hand, I tried to document the dreamlike, cinematic tension between performance and reality. The stillness of the images, set against the movement of the performance, revealed something unexpectedly tender in each subject: a glimpse of character beyond the fabric they wore.
Tales & Tellers left me wondering. I couldn’t possibly encounter all 36 characters — I left wanting more. Raised in art school since I was four, I grew up believing that fashion and art couldn’t mix — that fashion was inherently commercial, and art had to remain untouched by market logic. But walking out of the Terminal Warehouse on Friday night, I found myself questioning that belief. Maybe in the postmodern era, fashion can be art, and art can be fashion — and revenue doesn’t have to be what defines the difference.
(SUNGLASSES MM6 Maison Margiela, THONG Insatiable, SHOES Namilia)
(JACKET AND PANTS Namilia x Playboy, THONG Insatiable, BIKINI Namilia x Playboy, BOOTS MM6 Maison Margiela)
(Top: TOP Louis Vuitton, PANTS Namilia x Playboy, EARRINGS Jiwinaia, RINGS Versace + Diesel, BRACELETS Uno De 50)
(Bottom: SUNGLASSES MM6 Maison Margiela, T-SHIRT Namilia, SHOES Namilia, EARRINGS Jiwinaia, THONG Insatiable, BIKINI Namilia x Playboy, BRACELETS Stylist's Own)
(Top: COAT Palomo Spain x Bimba Y Lola, BRIEFS Coco Latex, NECKLACE Jiwinaia, RINGS Diesel, HEELS Abra Paris)
(Bottom: THONG + GLOVES Insatiable, BOOTS Namilia x Ed Hardy)
(Top: SUNGLASSES Dolce and Gabbana, EARRINGS Jiwinaia, RINGS Versace + Diesel, BRACELETS Uno De 50)
(BOTTOM: TOP + JEANS Dsquared 2, BOOTS MM6 Maison Margiela, EARRINGS Jiwinaia, BRACELETS Uno De 50, BELT Stylist's own, RINGS Versace + Diesel)
(Top: HOOD Insatiable)
(Bottom: JACKET + SKIRT Jacquemus, THONG Insatiable, BIKINI Namilia x Playboy, HAT Louis Vuitton)
Jack Ludkey A lot of people are curious about who you are. I was surprised when you said you were down to do this.
John Doe Yeah, I mean I get it. Being anonymous is kind of what you do when you really want people to know who you are. I’m very narcissistic.
JL Is that the only reason you decided to be anonymous?
JD To be honest, I thought John Doe as a pen name had an authority, which made me want to use it. I hadn’t really thought through any of the implications involved in writing anonymously. I’m glad I did it, though. I like being anonymous.
JL You don’t wish you had your name attached for ego reasons?
JD No, I don’t care about that. This still strokes my ego.
JL You came up posting little images with prose poems on Twitter, without really getting published anymore. Watching your Twitter unfold I picked up on an aversion to doing things the institutional route. Does that resonate?
JD It does and it doesn’t. When I started writing in fall 2022 I was in a bit of a manic episode, of sorts. I think the aversion you’re talking about is more me wanting things to be finished and realized immediately. It’s a very childlike quality of mine, not wanting to wait. I wouldn’t even edit those pieces, I posted them the second they were finished.
JL A shit posting ethos.
JD Yes, a shit posting ethos.
JL And yet you chose to do a book.
JD I did, Manuel hit me up and asked me if I wanted to do a book and we churned out very quickly. My book is not timeless, it feels very dated now. I’m glad he let me work the way I like to.
JL Have you been surprised at the reception?
JD I had a very commonplace fantasy that the book would either not sell at all and get panned or become a New York Times bestseller. I was convinced of that, actually. It did alright. I feel satisfied.
JL Are you still writing?
JD Yes, I am. I’m writing a novel about a guy who works at a tollbooth. I won’t talk about that, though.
JL I’m surprised you’re working on fiction.
JD I know, I am too. I want to do another poetry book as well. We’ll see what happens.
JL What made you start writing?
JD I was in a bunch of shitty punk bands in high school. I “played drums” in them. I don’t know how to play drums, but it was fun. I would definitely be a musician if I had any aptitude for it. You do what you have to do.
JL Are there still videos online? Can I find them?
JD There wasn’t a lot of hype around the high school, front lawn punk scene in suburban Michigan in the mid 2010s, believe it or not. I have some, though. They’re fun.
JL What do you do in your spare time?
JD Honestly? Video games.
JL What do you play?
JD I mean, Rockstar got me into video games. I love L.A. Noire. Have you played Stellar Blade?
JL What’s that?
JD It’s this Korean action RPG. You’re a sexy cyborg girl fighting these weird intergalactic parasites. And it turns out the parasites are human and you’re this weird cyborg who was sent to like… Exterminate all remaining people. It’s awesome.
JL Damn. PS5?
JD Yup, it’s wild. And horny.
JL I would describe your book cover as iconic. It’s in memes and starter packs now.
JD I kind of mentioned this, but I really cranked the book out quickly. Choosing a cover was by far the hardest part. I really wanted to have an epic egirl image, and scoured Instagram and Tumblr for one. None of them felt right, except for two girls who passed.
JL Cancel rocks.
JD Agreed. I was actually just staying with him during the Los Angeles fires. We were smoking cigarettes and watching the Knicks while the city burned down around us. It was weird to watch so much get destroyed, and it was weird to see a landscape so lit up with orange amidst the pitch-black sky. It was also right after my book came out and I left my shitty restaurant job. Things felt very apocalyptic.
JL Yeah, that must have been insane. Are you into sports? Are the Knicks your team?
JD I actually do, which is funny because everyone accuses me of living in New York, which I don’t. I’ve always been a Timberwolves fan, but I got attached to Townes and kind of followed to the Knicks. They rock.
JL You write about God, which a lot of people do for aesthetic purposes. Are you actually spiritual?
JD I am, which I imagine everyone would say. The worst part about doing drugs is having to believe in God and work a 12 Step program after, I’m joking. But yes, I pray every day. I’m not “Christian,” or whatever. I think a lot of people start praying when they’re at their lowest.
JL One time I took molly in Florida with my ex-girlfriend. COVID era. She made out with her gay best friend. I prayed into my pillow after. Like, “what have I done.” Do you like drugs?
JD I mean, of course. But I’ve been sober a long time. I think users are losers, I post on our behalf.
