Conductors of the Moving World

In 1972, a delegation of Japanese police officials visited the U.S. to study traffic in several cities. The unofficial photographer for the delegation was Inspector Eizo Ota. He produced a record of the group’s travels, best described as forensic tourism. Using Ota’s work as a starting point, Brad Zellar plundered traffic manuals, haiku anthologies, Watergate transcripts and ‘The Godfather’ for inspiration. The result is a Zen travelogue through the America of 1972. From a large collection of C-prints, an assortment of 17 was added into individual volumes, making each book a singular work of art.