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.
About Rokas Jankus
Rokas was born 35 years ago in Vilnius, Lithuania, today he is an architect and photographer based in Hamburg, Germany. He passionately captures daily life on sensors, film and ultimately on paper and tries to find beauty [or absurdity] in commonplace situations on his way. He mostly has no aim in beforehand, likes to utilise a certain feeling of a place or situation to create something within or after the process of shooting. He sees his photography as a visualisation of his thoughts and feelings just for a certain period of time and likes to think of it as self-portraiture sometimes. As his feelings do, the pictures change with the passing time. [Official Website]
