CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 9/2/2025

The overlooked South Asian art form of super-individualized, decorated trucks

Featured photographs—the first two taken in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the third in Jaipur, India—are from new release, Trucks and Tuks: Decorated Vehicles of South Asia, the follow-up to Christopher Herwig’s 2015 international photobook sensation, Soviet Bus Stops. Herwig writes, “Like the many bus stops I photographed across the former Soviet Union, this project celebrates individuality, improving one’s surroundings with creativity and the value of being able to escape our everyday situation through dreams. While based in Colombo over a period of years, I traveled the region exhaustively: from the towering Hindu Kush Mountains of Pakistan to the tranquil beaches of Sri Lanka. Unlike the bus stops, the trucks’ constant movement made them an exciting challenge to hunt down. On a typical day, I might encounter thousands of trucks at numerous locations. Presented with so much amazing material, it was a constant dilemma whether to stop and spend time photographing, or to keep moving, hoping for something even more extraordinary a little further down the road!”