These photographs of meticulously constructed shacks and huts were taken in Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, and Helsinki by photographer Ari Saarto for his series IN SITU. The huts are built with walls, windows, furniture and amenities from refuse. Like homesteads, they stand on the sidewalks, under bridges, and in forests, expressing ingenuity and adaptation of their inhabitants. Surprisingly, these shelters look similar, despite being built on different continents.
The inhabitants are deliberately not pictured: Saarto set out to document “traces and evidence of human presence” with landscape style photography, lending to almost clinical but fascinating shots. See them in our gallery.
Tokyo #7. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Tama Gawa #2. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Lapinlahti #1. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Sumida Gawa Terrace #15. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Sumida Gawa Terrace #9. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Tama Gawa #4. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Tama Gawa #1. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Kamo Gawa #1. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Tama Gawa #5. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Tokyo #4. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Sumida Gawa Terrace #4. Courtesy Ari Saarto.
Vallila #1 (Spring Cleaning). Courtesy Ari Saarto.