Photo by Rocco Rorandelli
Italian photographer Rocco Rorandelli was just profiled in The New York Times about his project that investigates the origins of the cigarette in India and China. His photo series shows a vast difference in respect for the cigarette and how it is perceived in both cultures.
In India, the cigarette is the ultimate sign of poverty with those who work in tobacco fields doing so out of absolute necessity for their day-to-day living. In China however, the cigarette is perceived as a sign of wealth and prosperity, one that even is accepted as a form of wedding gift (see photos).
Check out the photo slideshow here for more details.
I’d love to be able to go take photos in a cigarette factory. I imagine it smelling like the combination of a sorting room of a post office and an old humidor.