tōkyō / suits of kabukichō

SUITS OF KABUKICHŌ By dusk, the streets of this endless seeming city are being roamed by 'suits'. Its a known, yet overlooked phenomenon. Hungry for bowls of ramen, raw tuna, cold sake out of cans and women, they're being delivered by red taxis to amusement miles in Shinjuku, just to find themselves the next day with a headache in a small office high above the city, working too many hours, again. I shot this mini-series in one night on a 4-day trip to Tokyo. It gives me the confidence that photographic visions don’t have to be long-term projects only. The edit was a lot more time consuming than the actual shooting process, which is unusual to me, since I really enjoy making pictures outside. Even before that trip I was interested in Japanese work ethics and their [from my point of view] different approach to over-hours and self restriction. In Tokyo, the after-work-part opened itself up in front of me with such a clarity, that I just had to capture it and combine it with my visual idea, spontaneously by just being there.