images Jenny Nordquist
words Johanna Agerman

On a recent trip to Japan Swedish photographer Jenny Nordquist turned her lens on the small kiosks that stand on the platforms of train and underground stations across the country. This series of 16 photographs is the continuation of a body of work titled Kiosk Nostalgia.

The ongoing project looks at kiosk culture in various cultures and the photographs depict the ambience and the character of these freestanding, purpose-built buildings. “I want to portray the kiosk in a nostalgic light, as something worth protecting and cherish in a time of deep fat-frying imperialism,” says Nordquist.

She has previously photographed Swedish hotdog stands where the images explore the history of these national culinary institutions and their struggle for survival in the face of the franchise influx and “super-size me” culture.

In comparison to the Swedish kiosks, executed in wood and painted in friendly colours, the Japanese have a more efficient, minimal and monochrome aesthetic, reflecting the two cultures' different attitudes to on-the-go shopping.