Most of Wall's street pictures are based on everyday situations that he has witnessed at first hand. He is particularly interested in what he calls 'micro-gestures': gestures that seem automatic or compulsive, and which are at the same time emblematic of tensions within society.

'The gesture was so small. I was interested in the... physical mimesis. The white man was copying the Asian's body. Mimesis is one of the original gestures of art.' - Jeff Wall