To See or Not to See by

To See or Not to See

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The only thing one can do is wait. Trapped behind glass, life stands still till the subway doors open again.

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Trapped behind a grid of glass and metal a man looks down, directly into the lens with slight confusion. Luminescent light shines from abroad and illuminates the smudges and grim on the glass. He is wearing a biking helmet and holding onto a bike.
A bearded man presses his fingertips against the glass of the subway door. He is making eye contact and his eyebrows are raised though there is no expression on his face. He is wearing a bright orange toque and a dark blue jacket. The image is framed by stripes of metal and rubber going down the left side of the image.
Seated in a subway car, a man stares directly at the camera with no expression on his face. His white beard and hair contrasts with his dark features. He is wearing a beret and glasses.
A woman looks directly into the camera as she stands expressionless in a crowded subway car. Exactly half of her face is covered by the opening subway door. On both sides of her are men with their backs turned towards the door.
A woman looks into the distance from inside a subway car as she waits for the subway doors to open. She is holding an yeti and wearing a blue blazer. Her profile is framed by the subway door and illuminated by the luminescent lights from above.
A woman stares into the abyss from inside a subway car. Her face is illuminated by a triangle of light cast from the reflection on the car’s window. Her back is towards the camera and only her profile can be seen. She is wearing a grey toque and a brown wool coat, which is a similar colour to her hair. An older woman sitting closer to the camera looks down at her lap. The women sit back to back and neither are in focus. They are framed by strokes of metal.
A man looks out the subway window seemingly at nothing. His face and eyes are expressionless. Two woman sit on either side of him, their back towards the camera. Skid marks can be seen on the dirty window and there are stripes of light reflection from the luminescent lights above. He is framed by the cool silver of the subway car which contrasts with the warm interior.
A young woman and a young man stand at the front of the next subway car sharing a pole. While she looks to the left at something in the distance, he looks down at her feet. They are framed by the window at the end of the subway. The reflection off two panes of glass casts linear stripes of light which continue out of frame. The two panes of glass also cast a reflection of the pole which extends out of the primary frame.
A man in a blue suit and tie is seated in a crowded subway car looking down at something in his hand which is blocked by a green backpack. He is framed by the backs of people standing in the foreground, both also in various shades of blue. His hair is jet black and slicked back. He is wearing a pair of green headphones and glasses. Behind him is a blue map which contrasts with the hint of orange on either side of him.
A man holding a large bouquet of lilies sits with his back towards a subway window. He looks at something out of frame with a look of quiet contentment. Only part of his face can be seen. He is wearing a warm purple dress shirt which is of a similar color to the flowers in his arms. The smudged reflections of people in the subway are distorted by stripes of light cast by the luminescent lights above. A stroke of metal frames the image.

Trapped in Transient Space documents the mundanity of commute in New York City. In the city, everyone seems as though they are attending to everything all at once. That all stops in the subway; the only thing one can do is wait. Trapped behind glass, life stands still till the subway doors open again.

Cici Wei (BA ’24) originally created “To See or Not to See” in Jeff Day’s Fall 2023 Tutorial “To See or Not To See.”

Thumbnail image courtesy of author.

 
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