Road to expressions.
The photos I took in Tsukiji market are mainly of the faces of men and women, sometimes at work, sometimes not.
I captured their expressions, daily actions, meals taken alone and the refreshing rest taken after a long night spent on the stalls.
In this particular photo, an old man is sitting in a corner thinking, with his hands gently resting in his lap, and an impenetrable smile on his face. It’s impossible to guess what’s he’s thinking, and my lens can do nothing more than capture the serene, illusive beauty of his facial expression and his gaze fixed somewhere in the past. Perhaps he’s been working here for years, perhaps he’s retired but comes back here every day, where he feels at home. Perhaps he’s thinking about the fact that the market is being closed down soon and being moved to another place (which as I write has already happened), bringing to a close a long chapter in his life and marking the end of an era in Tokyo’s history.
Who knows what he’d think seeing his photo in the book or on display in a gallery. Who knows if he’d smile that same inscrutable smile.
