William Henry Fox Talbot called the 1839 invention of photography “the art of fixing the shadow.” He explained the process as capturing “...the most transitory of things, a shadow, the proverbial emblem of all that is fleeting and momentary...” Hatakeyama has cited this work as an inspiration for his series on one of Tokyo’s invisible waterways. The artist has transformed a concrete drainage conduit into studies of glittering lights, deeps shadows, and seductive reflections. Hatakeyama has explained that everything in his field of vision fits into three categories: things standing up, things lying down, and holes. In this series of nine panels, a canal stretches between the walls of Tokyo’s tall buildings, like a slow-moving stream through a ravine. Deep shadows cast by dramatic lighting appear as voids (or holes). Sky and water meet in a glittering world of light, color, and reflection in each image.