8 October 2025

The bag is the reason

A face on a bank could be anyone. The bag says why they are there.

We crop the bag out once, for a poster that wanted a portrait. The person did not recognise the reason.

Now the bag stays. If they do not want the bag seen, they do not want the picture.

That is a shorter conversation than it used to be.

The office is a desk on Strada Mihail Kogălniceanu, a short walk from the landing. The people who call are the landing, the potters, and families who want the hour someone waited. We do not stage a crossing. If the wind stops the boat, we stay with the people who stayed. The other bank is in the frame only when the boat actually goes.

Journal