In the Tokyo subway, all the seats are placed along the sides of the passenger cars leaving the central space for standing. High handles placed directly above the seats allow standing passengers to face those seated.

From this standing perspective, looking down, we are led to observe the hands of the passengers seated directly in front of us, their attitudes, what they’re holding, their books, their phone screens…

With my mobile phone in hand to pass the time, I started taking photos of the view I had and gradually developed this collection.

​Between 2020 and 2023, during each one of my several trips to Tokyo, I constantly sought out the most narrative hands and the most expressive clothing styles.

When the subway arrived at the platform, I was already scanning the travelers through the windows, planning where to position myself in the passenger car and like any collector, the quest for hands with unique styles became an obsession of mine.
It’s worth noting that the factory settings for mobile phones purchased in Japan are set to make an obligatory shutter sound when taking a photo, even in silent mode. This restriction was put in place to prevent unauthorized photos being taken under women’s skirts.

Since my European phone didn’t have this blocked setting, it enabled me to be close to passengers and discreetly photograph them without arousing suspicion.

This book brings together the first 100 photos from an ongoing collection.