From his seat at a luncheon held at the British Embassy in Tokyo on February 16, 1983, David Hockney shot dozens of photographs surveying the immediate space and its contents, including the place settings, his dining companions, and even his used rolls of film on the table directly before him. This photocollage made up of 138 individual 35 mm prints recreates the photographer's experience. Hockney was particularly attracted to photocollage in the early 1980s because it allowed him to treat photography more like drawing and painting, giving him the ability to modify the perspective and introduce the element of time. He also enjoyed the flexibility to break out of the frame imposed by the camera. In the artist's words, "When [I] began I didn't know where the edge would be, whereas [for] most people looking through a camera it's the edge that defines everything."