David Bowie: 'It's very hard for me to accept that Sukita-san has been snapping away at me since 1972 but that really is the case... May he click into eternity.'
Masayoshi Sukita: 'So many years. But It doesn't end here... I'm looking forward to the years to come.'
Meeting in the early seventies, by 1980 Sukita had photographed Bowie on nearly 20 separate occasions. A connection was formed such that over the ensuing decades Sukita's camera has never been far from the focal point of Bowie's life and work.
Present at both private rehearsals and centre stage for some of Bowie's most spectacular performances, Sukita's lens has also preserved informal moments - a subway ride in Kyoto, or a birthday celebration with Iggy Pop - as well as studio portraits created during countless sittings together.
Masayoshi Sukita: 'I received a call from Kyoto, where Bowie-san was staying. He had already made himself a local. We went to a local market, rode the local trains and went out to a disco at night. Most of the people around him were unaware who he was...'
David Bowie: 'The best way to get to know a city is to count up how much change you have in your pocket and take the subway as far as that amount gets you. I did that several times on my last stay in Tokyo in 2004.'
Masayoshi Sukita: 'I brought a copy of the soundtrack to Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence to this photo shoot. When I said I wanted to take a close-up of his face, David-san played the film's main theme and, soon, a very quiet yet tastefully profound expression emerged from his face. It was a very moving moment.'
David Bowie: 'Whenever Sukita's asked me to do a session I conjure up in my minds eye the sweet, creative big-hearted man who has always made these potentially tedious affairs so relaxed and painless.'
Over 80% of the photographic selection presented within this 300-page large-scale book have never been seen or published until now. Garnered from sessions between 1972 and very recent times, all images are printed to the highest quality and presented with Bowie and Sukita's words throughout.
