Nobuyoshi Araki “Hitozuma Photographs”

Rat Hole Gallery

Finished

Artists

Nobuyoshi Araki

Known as one of his lifeworks, “Hitozuma Eros,” Araki’s nude photographs of wives, originated in 1998 as a regular column for the magazine Shukan Taishu published by Futabasha. Forming a series that continues today, these photographs feature hundreds of wives who sent in applications to be photographed by Araki over the past 15 years. While works from the magazine and photo books are in color, this exhibition presents never-before-shown, date-inscribed black and white photographs taken by Araki. The exhibition also marks the first time for Araki to focus solely on exhibiting work from his Hitozuma Eros series.

The over 700 black and white, cabinet-sized prints displayed on the walls of the gallery in a grid format have all been taken with a 35 mm camera, another feature which makes them distinct from the photographs published for the magazine series. They depict a more intimate relationship between Araki and his female subjects. Furthermore, the photographs have been drawn on by Araki with colored markers, creating a completely new body of work. The exhibition will also feature roughly 20 large black and white Hitozuma works taken recently.

[Image: Hitozuma Photographs (2013) B&W Print, Acrylic marker 13×18 cm]

Schedule

Nov 8 (Fri) 2013-Jan 19 (Sun) 2014