ARAKI
2016-09-12Nobuyoshi Araki, one of Japan’s most renowned photographers, and perhaps the most controversial, is recognised internationally for his prolific output and the erotic content of his photographs, which blur the lines between art and pornography. Araki is known worldwide for his photographs of women bound according to the ancestral rules of Kinbaku – the Japanese art of bondage – a practice dating back to the 15th century. Although not all of Araki’s images are sexually charged, his monumental oeuvre also depicts the photographer’s own life and the day-to-day intricacies of existence. Araki has divided opinion but his artistic genius is undeniable; every image reveals extreme technical mastery and his influence penetrates many creative fields, including photography, film and fashion. This is the second time Hamiltons is presenting Araki’s work in a solo exhibition. In 2008 Hamiltons presented Bokuju Kitan / Marvellous Tales of Black Ink. This exhibition will include a selection of Araki’s more recent work.
Rarely associated with artistic motivation, bondage is traditionally used in pornographic works. Since 1979 however, Araki has depicted the theme of Kinbaku through a creative lens, interpreting this provocative subject matter with imaginative artistry. Araki’s obsession with women began at a young age, seeing women as possessing “all the charms of life itself… I tie women’s bodies up because I know their souls can’t be tied. Only the physical self can be tied. Putting a rope around a woman is like putting an arm around her.” Araki’s works, undoubtedly thought provoking, evolve in a poetic dimension, much like Helmut Newton who also addressed subversive themes.
‘For me, woman is photography… A photographer who doesn’t take photos of women is no photographer, or only a third-rate one… women teach you how the world goes around.’ (Araki)
Opposite – Suicide in Tokyo, 1994
Exhibition runs through till November 22nd, 2016
Hamiltons Gallery
13 Carlos Place
London
W1K 2EU
