Why I Take Photos Without Permission for 'Coffee Naps'

In this ongoing photography series by Guillaume Hebert, public sleeping is put on display in Taipei City. The unconventional portraits of drowsy people don’t even notice the photographer’s presence. He acknowledges that the photos are taken without permission, and so he makes sure their faces are obscured.

“These are just ordinary people,” Hebert says. “They settle at a table in a coffee shop to spend time in exchange for a drink. They wait, they study or play with their smartphones. And, probably tired, unable to resist the soporific music of the coffee shop, their heads end up falling on the table.

“The flabby and inert bodies forget their environment. Then being their pose for an indefinite period. These incongruous poses taken between the table and the chair become the focal point of my camera.”