Compression: Tokyo

“The scent of Tokyo is zesty and a little sour. I can't say what the air smells like, but the earth is distinctly tangy. Sweet peach juice seeps over the asphalt and lemons squeeze through its streets. It glistens as if it's wearing a fruit peel inside out, a little tipsy: Horoyoi.”

Compression: Tokyo” is an artist's book by Woonhae Yea, published by SSE Book (Korea), mapping Tokyo through its most overlooked surfaces — the crushed aluminium cans flattened into its asphalt. Moving between Korean, Japanese, and English, the work layers personal essay and photography into a meditation on urban compression: physical, emotional, and quietly human.