Wire report
‘I thought a devil was about to appear from the smoke’: Jerry Hsu’s best photograph
‘The black cloud emerged from a grate in the street. I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic – just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city’ This image was taken in 2011 or 2012, just after I had moved to Los Angeles. I was downtown, an area I don’t go to that much, walking around with my camera. Some black smoke started to emerge from a grate in the street – I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic, as if some sort of devil was going to appear. It was really just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city. There is a very powerful feeling of surrender when I am photographing. I have to submit to the authority of ignorance when I’m out there. I grew up in San Jose, which is a sprawling American suburb – there’s no city about it. I came to LA because I was depressed where I lived, and I h
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‘The black cloud emerged from a grate in the street. I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic – just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city’ This image was taken in 2011 or 2012, just after I had moved to Los Angeles. I was downtown, an area I don’t go to that much, walking around with my camera. Some black smoke started to emerge from a grate in the street – I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic, as if some sort of devil was going to appear. It was really just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city. There is a very powerful feeling of surrender when I am photographing. I have to submit to the authority of ignorance when I’m out there. I grew up in San Jose, which is a sprawling American suburb – there’s no city about it. I came to LA because I was depressed where I lived, and I h
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘I thought a devil was about to appear from the smoke’: Jerry Hsu’s best photograph, ‘The black cloud emerged from a grate in the street. I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic – just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city’ This image was taken in 2011 or 2012, just after I had moved to Los Angeles. I was downtown, an area I don’t go to that much, walking around with my camera. Some black smoke started to emerge from a grate in the street – I guess something underground was on fire. It was hilariously cinematic, as if some sort of devil was going to appear. It was really just one of those eerie, spontaneous things that happen in a city. There is a very powerful feeling of surrender when I am photographing. I have to submit to the authority of ignorance when I’m out there. I grew up in San Jose, which is a sprawling American suburb – there’s no city about it. I came to LA because I was depressed where I lived, and I h
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-09T13:35:26+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: ‘I thought a devil was about to appear from the smoke’: Jerry Hsu’s best photograph via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- ‘I thought a devil was about to appear from the smoke’: Jerry Hsu’s best photographThe Guardian - 2026-09-09T13:35:26+00:00
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