Crossing Road
2021
This work features pedestrians scattered on Tokyo’s busy business streets during the brief transition from the green to the red traffic signal. Her consecutive shots and paused frames curiously capture a “time-based march” of the pedestrian at city crosswalks, amidst the vehicular traffic under Tokyo's urban backdrop.
At first glance, Nishimura's people appear frozen and robotically detached from one another. However, on closer inspection, these paused frames reveal various engaging facial and physical expressions on the move, telling us individual stories behind each person's life. Simultaneously, the pedestrians seem to blend well as a group during the short period while crossing the roads, co-creating the mass human current unknowingly. In a variety of images, the movements almost seem inspired by a well-choreographed stage sequence.
Nishimura captures these images casually and spontaneously, acting as a distant observer who does not interact with her subjects. These everyday scenes transform themselves into a unique expression, unexpectedly telling stories by themselves, revealing Nishimura’s ability to uncover the unseen in city life.