100 Strangers Project - 58/100 /  by Michael Pung

Ryusuke was sitting enjoying his break from work when I approached him. He was very relaxed when I explained my project and was happy to have his photo taken. Ryusuke's attire stood out from the crowd for me, he was wearing a hat and his clothes were coordinated with the colour of his glasses and he also had a holster for all of his hairdressing tools - it reminded me of country-western gun holster. He comes from Hanedakuko Japan and moved to London 1 year ago with his wife whom he met in a logistics company over there. He has been hairdressing for 17 years. One of his favourite things to do is to go to the beach and enjoy the sun - something he doesn't like so much here in London! He sometimes goes to Cornwall for surfing the waves, something he enjoyed doing back when he was in Japan.

Thank you Ryusuke for taking part in the project!

100 Strangers Project - 56/100 /  by Michael Pung

After meeting Reine in Chinatown we head to the tube to find our way back home. We end up at Paddington tube station and come across a couple who appear to be working out where they were going.

My friend approaches them asking if they need any help with directions. They have exhausted themselves working out where their hotel is after a long day out, where they traveled from Oxford for their daughter's graduation. Their names are Linda and Tom and they come from Southlake, Texas.

I offer to send a copy of the photo to them and Linda says that I can send it to her daughter's email address. While looking on her phone she accidentally calls her daughter and they start talking about their tube experience and how they were being photographed! She then tells us to stand together for a photo so she can send it to her daughter.

After our exchange, we say goodbye, thankful for the help from my friend and I. Linda and Tom now have their directions and head towards the right platform... and to their hotel.

Thank you Tom and Linda for taking part in the project!

100 Strangers Project - 55/100 /  by Michael Pung

It is night time in the middle of Chinatown and I am with a friend looking for strangers to complete my project. I spot a man exiting a restaurant with his friend. He is wearing an oversized shirt which has money prints on the sleeves, a black-leather backpack, black spectacles and a blue bowler's hat - tilted to the right. A statement is made.

His name is Reine who flew from Stockholm with his friend to visit London to do some shopping. He tells me that he is a tailor for H&M and gives me his business card. They are looking for a place to eat, somewhere cheap yet tasty. They argue over the one they just exited. His friend asserts that this one looks good, but he replies saying that he prefers to go to a place where the locals eat. After the shoot, he asks us where to go and we make a few recommendations for places down the road.

Thanks for taking part in the project and hope you found a place to eat Reine!

100 Strangers Project -54/100 /  by Michael Pung

A man is sitting, waiting by himself beside a bus stop to see a friend about a job. He is wearing sunglasses and is dressed in all black. He looks at me with a welcoming acknowledgement and I decide to approach him and tell him about the project.

Sensing the way I spoke he enquires, "Is that a funny thing that Australians do?" 

He introduces himself as William and tells me that usually people don't approach him in the way that I did, saying many are afraid. He knows many people who come from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and he can discern the ways of speaking. He himself is from New York but has been living in London for 14 years. He tells me that he is a martial artist and he teaches a form that incorporates many (I think 7) different types of disciplines. He loves motorbike riding and the movement involves and compares martial arts to it:

"The martial arts is the same, you're using your body in a certain ways. I don't use a lot of kicks, I don't use any fancy shit. It's more about the flow of energy and take an opponent and use their energy against themselves. It's all in the wrist. It's very relaxed and very co-ordinated. It's like a chess game. You set the person up... slowly."

He also explains to me about why he does martial arts:

"The purpose is to understand yourself. It's a transcendent act, it's like playing music. You pick up an instrument and you start tuning it. You start doing more with it, you start to find a new technique so that you can express what you hear and feel in your head. Like Coltrane. Coltrane was about expressing EXACTLY what it was. That's why he went through so much pain to get his sound the way he wanted to."

He tells me how this philosophy flows into his cooking, his music and his mixology. All things that he enjoys doing.

He reveals me about how he likes to spend time studying typography:

"I like typography. That's about making letters. Individual letters in an alphabetical system how they are structured by sound but by look. It gives you fonts like Helvetica, courier that's what it is."

I ask him, "Are you fascinated with just English or other languages as well?"

"Well you know, I'm very into the Katakana the Hiragana from the character based Japanese language and the Chinese. It's all based on the pentagram. So when you start to write..." He then proceeds to show with his hands how to form one of the characters. I notice a connection in this with the martial arts that he practices. "You get a real feel for the letters, it's different from the English system which uses nibs and points where you're actually cutting the paper for the ink to go into. It's like doing a tattoo on someone, you're cutting their skin and the ink goes through. It's a gentle relationship with the paper. So the Japanese and the Chinese they had that gentle relationship. It was the spirit as the movement of the sword. The pen and the sword are very, very intertwined they have the same spirit actually. And when you learn them both your wrists and hands move a certain way."

Thank you for taking part in the project William!

100 Strangers Project - 53/100 /  by Michael Pung

I see Elly ambling down the road heading in the direction of Broadway Market. She is wearing a black bowler hat, a white blazer and patterned loose yoga trousers. She tells me that she is heading over to yoga class. I ask her about her hat and she says that she bought it from Shoreditch earlier for a grand sum of ₤20. She is happy to have her photo taken.

She lives in Berlin and was living in London for 3 years prior to moving.

"There are too many rules in London," she replied when I asked her about why she moved, she continues, "Things are freer in Berlin."

She is a stage actress and has been doing it since childhood. Recently she has been focusing on comedic acting and specifically as a clown. She loves the character of the clown because they are tragic characters. Although they are always failing at tasks, they never give up and it's the grit and determination that they exude which inspires her.

In addition to being an actress, Elly also is a musician and busks on the street with her accordion. 

"When performing, it's about how connected you are rather than how good you are unless you're really, really good."

Thank you for taking part in the project Elly!

The Horses /  by Michael Pung

A little over four weeks ago I embarked on a trip to Mouries Farm. It's a horse breeding farm located on the Greek island of Skyros which is around 119km north of Athens. Working with horses was something I've never done before and probably something that was not normally associated with and thus chuckles were received from a friend every time I mentioned the words 'horse farm' to him. Regardless, I was excited to see what it would be like to work with horses on the farm and see what life was like...

Marion, Manolis and the Ferrari

I was greeted by a gregarious lady called Marion upon arrival from the port who took me to the farm in the Ferrari -a car affectionately named and not for its prestige- and introduced me to the other volunteers. They were many! When I started there were 4 Italians, 6 Belgians, 3 English, 1 Scottish, 1 Spanish, 4 Greeks, 1 Brazilian, 3 French, 1 Estonian and 1 German. Marion helped run the farm along with her partner Manolis who ran the tavern. The aim of the farm is to help the species grow in numbers and thrive.

Everyone worked 4 hour shifts for 6 days a week. We were tasked with feeding, cleaning the horses, cleaning AFTER the horses and taking them on tours with kids who come to visit with their parents. There was plenty of time to take it easy and visit the beaches and towns. There was one problem however: there wasn't a public transport system on this island and getting around can prove costly, especially for people who were on a budget (like us). I was told by one the volunteers that to get around this island one would have to hitchhike! And so, this was the way we got around the island during our down times.

Taking the horses out for the tours.

We were a huge family - working together, having dinner together, beach days, hiking, the siestas...  but because of the nature of the volunteer work we also had to say goodbye many times. It's never easy to say goodbye especially with people who you develop such bonds with but the way I see it that it's more "see you again sometime..." and I hope to keep to that.

Farewell selfie

It wasn't always easy hitching a ride.

Now let me talk about the horses! The Skyrian horse is a rare breed that has existed on the island for around 2000 years and most grow to around 11 hands tall (112cm)- they even made me look big! (At least in images). They are an endangered species with only around 270 of them left in the world. Upon meeting them for the first time I thought that they were gorgeous. The horses were friendly, affectionate, intelligent, shy, cheeky and social. Some times they were annoyed and during others they were loving. They were truly beautiful creatures and it was a wonderful experience getting to know them.

The horses roam free in the paddock and work on tours for two and a half months in the year. For the rest of the year they live up in the mountains where they are looked after by the people living on the farm.

A highlight of the trip was when a group of us woke up early in the morning to take the horses to the beach for a swim.

We were worried about the weather though because the night before we had gale-force winds and an overcast morning. But it gradually cleared up and by the time we got to the beach, this happened:

We spent nearly an hour there, watched the horses splash and walk around in the water and just enjoyed some time away from the farm.

The three weeks I spent on the farm eventually came to an end and I made some incredible friends, bonded with the horses and just took some time out of the busy life that I lived in London. It was more of the quiet life but it was also a beautiful life and one that I would say was quite perfect for my summer away.

100 Strangers Project - 52/100 /  by Michael Pung

"I'm really awkward in front of the camera, that's why I talk."

I met Stefo as he was chaining his bike to a post. He's a bartender who comes from Sweden. He was just about to get into work when I caught him. He said that the bar he works at has a lot of taxidermy and that there's one which is a snake shoved down a goose's throat. Which would have been quite confronting to see. I asked him if he likes taxidermy and he resoundingly said no.

Thanks for taking part in the project Stefo!