What does a space say about the people who move about in it? In EDGES OF THE CITY Martin Luijendijk photographed the private spaces in which professionals do their work, at moments when their users have stepped out temporarily. These specialised, functional worlds form the edges of the metropolitan world. The tranquillity of the images – apparently theatre sets during an intermission – contrast with the complex networks of which their users are a part. In CONTINUATION Luijendijk records buildings that are just ready to be delivered, or demolished – in a way that the distinction disappears. There is no history, no future, no progress and no decline.

The trams of line 7 run across Rotterdam from the deprived neighbourhood of Spangen to the prosperous Kralingen. On the way the tram runs through neighbourhoods which vary greatly in terms of appearance, population, nationality and culture. Luijendijk photographed the interiors of stores along the route: the baker and the jeweller, the second hand shop and the chic restaurant, the Islamic butcher and the Indian sari shop. His photographs are a report on a world tour through his own city, reflecting the multicultural society of the Netherlands while at the same time revealing the economic differences.

Landscapes and objects - large scale and small. The depth of focus in a photograph often determines into which category we will place a subject. We have become used to this interpretation through photographs and film and television images. With their out of focus foregrounds and backgrounds these landscape shots seem to be photographs of maquettes; objects, on the contrary, are photographed sharp from front to back. The model and reality switch places, and everything the viewer has to go on visually is lost in Luijendijk's images.