RIC J: Are you a young woman or an old maid?

NM: I am the eternal fountain of youth, if you drink from my glass, the world will become immortal. 

RIC J: Why are your lips so red, and your teeth so black?

NM: My lips are red because I drink men’s blood, teeth are black because men’s blood is black, bitter, full of iron. 

RIC J: I like your chin which goes a little forward: is this a sign of nervousness or of an iron will?

NM: Neither. It’s the sign of the devil. 

RIC J: When was the last time you dreamed?

NM: The last I dreamed was yesterday, I dreamt that I was happy. Then I woke up. 

RIC J: You’re all black and white, but your lips are red: is this a tribute to RIC-J?

NM: All the reds in the world are a tribute to RIC-J. That little red imperfection. I bow to you.

RIC J: What’s the last piece you played?

NM: I played the role of the unknown goddess. The no-goddess. 

RIC J: Would you like a woman to carry you?

NM: No, because I am already a woman. Need something different. I am bored of myself. 

RIC J: Do you prefer to let air out through your mouth, or to put something in it (and what, in this case?)?

NM: Only bitter lemon enters my mouth. 

RIC J: If you were a thought, what would it be?

NM: Euripides looked at me and wrote, “He is not a lover who does not love forever.” 

RIC J: Do you close your eyes sometimes?

NM: Only when I want to stay awake. 

RIC J: Have you ever loved an actor so much that you hoped he would never remove the mask from his face?

NM: Yes, once in Hiroshima, he played the role of a spider with a woman’s face. 

RIC J: When you are carried next to your skin, is it like kissing you?

NM: No, it is like fucking me. 

RIC J: Do you know what “making love” means?

NM: I invented making love. I should be asking this question to you. 

RIC J: Have you ever revealed that you were carved from the wood of a coffin?

NM: I am aware. And yet it is better to be a mask carved from coffin wood than to be a living human made of dead flesh (i.e. everyone on this planet). 

RIC J: In memory of a Sufi patient, can you tell me, with just two words, what life means to you?

NM: 金継ぎ