The lane I stepped into was not only narrow, but it was a mess with all sorts of things on both side

When filming a drama or a movie, if the setting is a rich man's house, they don't put much stuff there, but if they want to show poverty, they put a mess of stuff there. You'd think that having a lot of stuff around would indicate a lot of money, but in fact, it's the opposite. It's interesting that people feel richer when they see a simple life without much stuff.

So here's the alleyway in Jakarta. There was a mess of various objects cluttering both sides of the narrow street. There was a pile of buckets that I didn't know if they were used or not, and there was a sheet of rainscreen over my head. For all intents and purposes, this was not the kind of space where rich people lived.

Certainly there was no rich atmosphere in the streets here at all. But it's also true that when I walk down a street like this one, there's a sense of activity. It's as if no narrative begins to emerge from the simple, tidy space. It's too restless and there's no way to move. On the other hand, I can't help but feel that something is born out of a place as messy as the photo. If you look hard enough, you may find the sprouts of a story in this photo.

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