Street Poll

INTERVIEWED BY JOHN JAMES

PHOTOS BY ANTONIA WRIGHT

Zander:

Sharks. You don’t see it coming. It’s so dark and the shark has all the power. The shark has all the cards. You are powerless in the ocean.

Kourosh:

Monotony. Being the same and doing the same thing every day—I thrive on learning and experiences, and I think that monotony is sad and scary as shit.

Jenny:

I hate mice. They scare me and they are disgusting. I can’t stand them—especially when they get brave at night. They really freak me out.

Nicole:

I’m shooting a film in September and there is quite a bit of pressure. I am playing a young Jewish New York artist/lesbian/dominatrix and I fear that it could disappear into the back shelves of Kim’s Video.

Michael:

Receding into obscurity before putting my foot down. I am terrified of becoming obsolete before I have actually accomplished anything.

Irene:

Loneliness is my biggest fear. The prospect of being by myself in my apartment. It’s a sad life when the only thing that recognizes your existence is your cat. You want to have something more to show for it, to have impact and people in your life rather than just floating through it. It’s a sign of what you did with your life. There’s nobody there to witness it, to share it with you, or to be a part of it.

Shawn:

Getting trapped under ice and drowning. I’m from Washington state so we spend a lot of time on the lake in the winter. There are times when it freezes over really thin so it can happen—you go into the drink and then you can’t get out. You’re trapped under there.

Alexandra:

Pasta salad. It’s always there. It’s never refrigerated. You can’t really tell what the contents are. It’s mayonnaise. It’s bologna. It’s really terrifying.

Jon:

Customs and immigration. You feel very powerless at the border. They have all of the authority and you need to be polite and respectful even though they don’t reciprocate. The last time I went through they took me aside and we had words. It is a terrible feeling, even if you have nothing to hide.

Tidelco:

My biggest fear is rejection and all of the emotional aftermath that it entails. It feels awful. I was just turned down by the French Embassy trying to get a student visa. The rejection itself is worse than not getting the papers.

Alexandria:

Cockroaches have always been my biggest fear. Living in the city, they are constantly on my mind. I see them and it makes me quiver. I hate them. They are filthy.

Ronald:

The incapacity that comes with age. When you are young you don’t think it matters, but you reach a certain age when your family and friends become ill and start dying, and you can’t avoid thinking about it. It surrounds you all the time.

Gregor:

Letting go of things that I want to do but that are a challenge to me, and finding out many years from now that it was a mistake to stop trying. I fear regret more than anything. It cannot be repaired and it cannot be fixed. Regret haunts you forever.

May:

Piranhas are my biggest fear, the idea of going swimming and having those little fish eat you alive.

Tijana:

Planes. I’m a control freak, and when I fly I’m pretty sure I’m going to die every time.