Iron, Glass and Navigation. 2010

Trains and stations are peculiar spaces in the contemporary cities where social relationships shift from the standard hierarchical order. Proximities and power relations between the individuals change in these temporal spaces and they shed light on the invisible and unique structures of the societies today.

As Michel de Certeau described in Railway Navigation and Incarceration, the two major characteristics of the train systems are 'navigation' and 'confinement' which are both created through two materials 'iron' and 'glass'. Passengers are being confined in the space for a certain amount of time in return for being transported from one location to another.

This short film piece Iron, Glass and Navigation observes this curious phenomenon through the reflective windows as well as depicting trains as crucial visual protagonists in the city of Tokyo, where more than 40 train lines are forming a web as if they are the vibrant veins of the city.