ASIA GRACE - IMPORTADO

"The images in this book were primarily taken during the 1970s. Some were taken in the mid 1980s and late 1990s. The photographs are sequenced following a general west-to-east direction of travel. The first images are from Iran and last are from Japan. The following countries are represented: Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, China, [Tibet], Korea, and Japan. However, contrary to the order in the book, my own travels progressed in the reverse direction, starting in East Asia and ending up in Iran. While the order is roughly west to east, country by country, the book´s sequence occasionally departs from that constraint. Since I would often dash back and forth across borders to follow the weather or to game the visa requirements, sometimes the images in the book will jump from one country set to another, not to follow my travels but to fit into a visual rhythm. In general, though, they continue to drift eastwards - which has been the general drift of my heart. My method of shooting was simple: smile, shoot first, ask questions later. It seemed to work. I spent enormous amounts of time hanging around places waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it did, often it didn´t. Further years were spent in the back of local buses waiting to leave. I learned a lot, but the truth is, a lot of what I photographed I have only a vague notion of what was really going on. Asia is complex, infinitely deep, and I was just a kid with a camera. I slept in local inns; I ate whatever was being served, and yes, I drank the water anywhere the natives did. I got sick only once, in Katmandu - hepatitis A." Kevin Kelly