The Life of a Ping Pong Table (19 photos)

From his student residence in Leipzig, Germany, Japanese photographer Hayahisa Tomiyasu started a one-of-a-kind project in 2011. He spent five years recording a basic outdoor ping pong table from his window that appeared to be used for everything but its intended use.

Residents of the city began to use the table as a gathering place, a place to do laundry, a place for family lunches, and even a place to hide from the rain. The idea of taking pictures of a “curious fox” soon turned into a fascination in documenting the everyday activities of people.

“No stories regarding persons were made up by me. By letting each scene speak for itself and allowing viewers to invent their own narratives, Tomiyasu remarked, “I just recorded them.”