Paris is elusive chaos. After living in Tokyo for over 20 years, this city seemed new and complex to me. For the past two years, I have lived in the suburbs and have always looked at the city as an outsider.

People in Paris are quietly separated. This is not due to any visible conflict, but rather each person has created a safe zone, respecting each other's space. Diversity is ensured through the gathering of similar communities and the sharing of “incomprehensibility”.

This sense of distance made me start walking along the Périphérique, the ring road that encircles Paris. While moving back and forth between the inside and the outside, I photographed the ambiguous space that stretches between the two. In this repetitive motion of rejection, acceptance, and separation again, I began to capture the urban landscape as well as my own inner self and my mental distance from others.

Périphérique is not just geographical boundary, but symbolize social, cultural, and mental separation. Its circles are dotted with intermediate areas that have spilled over from planning and consciousness, piled with rubble, temporary dwellings, small gardens, and human traces. It is a landscape that has become invisible in everyday life, yet speaks simultaneously of human tenacity and indifference.

This project is an attempt to visualize not only places, but also the “transparent boundaries” that exist between people. Through overlooked landscapes, I hope to create an opportunity to confront the social and mental separation that we unconsciously hold.

@eijinota