g a p s
隙間
This series was taken as part of
my Phd research.
my Phd research.
G a p s 隙間 is a photo exploration into the gaps which make up Tōkyō urban core. All of the images featured were taken in a single day, as a way of documenting the diversity contained within a specific time period.
They capture a range of locations, representing spaces of the public, the private, the in-between, the interior, the exterior. Although they cannot escape manifesting as extensions of my own impartial perception (Collier, 1967), the images are not highly styled or edited in order to give an accurate a representation as possible of the different shapes, sizes, colours that gaps in this context take.
The human and non/human bodies which occassionally find themselves caught between the gap and the lens of the camera, are always in movement, something which attempts to reflect my own ‘shooting while walking’ method. This was connected to Tōkyō based photographer Suzanne Mooney’s ability to capture the city in movement, something which allows the images to become products of and participants in, environments which are produced and consumed in movement (Pink, 2009). Including these bodies was a deliberate way of countering the difficulty of capturing movement when the subject of enquiry (the gap) is largely static.
Gaps are fundamental to how the city has spatially developed; they are both practical (in terms of storage and light-air infiltration) and imaginative. Kitayama Koh has argued that gaps have the potential to create new spatial components, with Atelier Bow-Wow extending this by suggesting that gaps can unite to form a singular network of green urban space (2011). In other words, there has been suggestion that gaps have the capacity to contribute to the revitalisation of the city via their ability to generate resilience and sustainable structures.
However, these proposals for the future perhaps overlook the lived realities of these gaps ‒ making assumptions that they have the desire and tangible capacity to transform. When spending time with these gaps, their
multi-purpose and busy lives become apparent. They are already working to accomodate the needs of the city; they are homes for animals, neccessary storage for excess material objects, spaces for children to
play, spaces where plants and flowers grow, spaces to house essential air conditioners and
ventilation systems.
multi-purpose and busy lives become apparent. They are already working to accomodate the needs of the city; they are homes for animals, neccessary storage for excess material objects, spaces for children to
play, spaces where plants and flowers grow, spaces to house essential air conditioners and
ventilation systems.
Some architects who I interviewed for my research were sceptical about how these ideas could be implemented, yet many were keen to think through any obstacles and questions. Part of this process is to develop an in-depth understanding of how the gaps currently operate in order to design future interventions which have the ability to succeed and generate positive urban change. This collection of photographic images responds to this idea of
the everyday lived realities of these gaps by photographing them in their natural state.
the everyday lived realities of these gaps by photographing them in their natural state.
The images present a range of zoomed in and zoomed out perspectives ‒ some zooming in to the complex mesh of materials which occupy the gaps, some zooming out to their situated spatial location in the city. Doing this allowed me to capture a sense of how gaps operate on both micro and macro scales. If the images were shown, they would be vertically hung in a row, one behind the other. Each of the gaps would be cut out allowing the viewer to see through each of the gaps, creating a continuous line of sight. This would also require the viewer to move and walk around the hung works in order to see them from different angles,
something which emulates my own photographic process. Further, zoomed in
and zoomed out would be connected as a singular viewing experience, reinforcing the need for the observer to actively engage with both in order to cultivate an in-depth understanding. The continuous gap reflects the reality of many gaps on the ground, in such that they often vertically
span across multiple blocks and boundaries.
something which emulates my own photographic process. Further, zoomed in
and zoomed out would be connected as a singular viewing experience, reinforcing the need for the observer to actively engage with both in order to cultivate an in-depth understanding. The continuous gap reflects the reality of many gaps on the ground, in such that they often vertically
span across multiple blocks and boundaries.