{ABOUT THIS PROJECT}

These photographs were part of a final assignment for a photo class I took in the spring of 2005. It was inspired by the work of Japanese documentary photography Kyoichi Tsuzuki, whose book, Tokyo Style offers glimpses into the way people in Tokyo live, and how they deal with the small living spaces that are a result of high rents. I find it really interesting to look at, and photograph people's rooms, to see the way they decorate their private spaces and what they choose to put on their walls, or the books they put on their shelves. I think it reveals a lot about who they are and what they care about. I had this dream to photograph people's rooms in boarding school, and do an extensive photo collection, which I would bind and make available to the school community. I thought it would be an interesting, and in some ways, oddly voyeuristic project because we all lived together and yet, had seen very few of other student's actual rooms. -W.L