In today’s world, 93% of international commerce moves by sea. billions of tonnes are transported yearly, with an ocean freight forecasted to grow 4.7% annually for the next decade. nowadays containers have become a core element of globalization, enabling commercial interchanges of various nature from far fetched locations. overwhelmed by the presence of containers and the space optimization, photographer manuel alvarez diestro presents ‘boxification’, a series that reflects on sea freight containers in a collection of images captured across asian ports.

Sea freight containers when placed in the asian mega ports are piled in the the thousands and together they create new landscapes where they rival the surrounding nature and integrate with the cities that we build. ‘boxification’ by manuel alvarez diestro captures the colorful geometries bordering the water, and their standardization across countries, cultures and means of transportation. this transnational discourse summarised in a standard steel box is a case of mutual understanding, of easiness to do business, the staple of international commerce.

In this world of standardisation governed by the hidden port operator, the artist further reflects around the content of those sea freight containers: what do they keep? and most powerful, from a photographic perspective the boxes seem to have conquered the landscape where they are the new canon.

‘they are enigmatic spaces that withhold the nature of its content: electrical appliances, mangoes, medicines, laptops, toys, clothes, avocados, furniture, wine, machinery, vehicle parts, books. all stacked up together, are classified, all travelling to different destinations, all alien to their surroundings, anonymous in darkness and waiting to be consumed by one of us.’ – Manuel Álvarez Diestro.

Written by Marta Sabin Miralles de Imperial