My interpretation of this photograph is that this man preparing a wedding or wake in an Asian country (Based off of the architecture of the building in the background). The photo does not give much away to suggest whether the event he is preparing is going to be mournful or celebratory. The man is wearing a red shirt and jeans, which seems fairly normal attire, however, he has his head bowed and his hands clasped together, reminiscent of prayer perhaps, in front of some kind of metallic monument. This could be a prayer for the departed or a prayer of luck for a newlywed or soon-to-be wed couple, but either way, his pose seems spiritual in nature.
Its hard to see anything within the gazebo’s that have been erected for the event, so it’s very difficult to discern through that what is happening in the photograph.
The building in the background is rather strange, seemingly 4 stories but small in size, perhaps some kind of hotel or restaurant where the after party for a wedding or a wake could be held.
The photograph seems to be taken without the man’s knowledge and, therefore, consent. This, when paired with the uncertain nature of the event that will be or has transpired here, could mean that the purpose of this image is to provide a discourse on the nature of life events and how the future comes upon us hard, fast and impossible to know. All we can do is prepare the best we can and then deal with the aftermath the best we can and scrape up the lessons with our hindsight to add to our arsenal for dealing with situations in the future. Perhaps, all we can do is pray, like the man here.
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