Park Benches and Trees

Park benches stand empty among bare or leafing trees — a subject that places the social infrastructure of public urban life within a natural setting. Benches in a park carry the implicit presence of the people who will or do sit on them, their emptiness suggesting either the early morning, the off-season, or a moment of unusual solitude in a normally occupied public space. Henmi's attention to this subject reflects his broader interest in Tokyo's public spaces as sites of democratic social life.