Road to Tsukiji.
A break, just enough time for a cigarette.
I visited Tsukiji every day for several days, to explore, to shoot, to get an idea of it.
And, in the late morning, this man would always be there: in the same place, wearing the same clothes, next to his bicycle, in the same position. Having a smoke. A drag and a puff. A completely ordinary moment which began to stretch out before my eyes , in its identical repetition, day after day, creating a new dimension. The suspension between the end of the working day, which for the wholesalers here is the morning, and the start of the rest of life, lying in wait outside the market.
This is the moment that gave me the inspiration for a road to follow. I couldn’ t see the destination yet (which is now the book resulting from the project ), but the direction was clear to me: observing the humanity that is most loyal to itself, with no filters, after the frenzy of the auctions and before they start again, for the umpteenth time.
I began looking for other moments like this. Tsukiji opened its doors to me, to be seen as never before, almost offering up its authenticity to me.
