ART | Nobuyoshi Araki Exhibition 'Wives' Photographs' at Rat Hole Gallery
ART│700 monochrome photos of married women, shot over 15 years, are on display
Nobuyoshi Araki Exhibition "Photos of Married Women" Held at Rat Hole Gallery
Photographer Nobuyoshi Araki (Araki Nobuyoshi) has spent 15 years photographing "married women." These 700 images are now on display in "Photos of Married Women," running from Friday, November 8, 2013, to Sunday, January 19, 2014, at Rat Hole Gallery in Minato-ku, Aoyama.
Text by YANAKA Tomomi
Seven-color painting by Araki himself
Araki's "Married Women's Eros," also known as his life's work, began in 1998 as a serial project for the magazine "Weekly Taishu" (Futabasha). The raw, unvarnished images of married women who responded to the magazine's call were captured in new shoots. Fifteen years have passed since the series began. Color photographs of the hundreds of married women he has photographed have been published in the series and in photo collections.
This exhibition marks the first public display of Araki's unreleased, dated photographs, taken concurrently with the color images. The exhibition features 700 35mm cabinet prints, displayed edge-to-edge on the walls. Furthermore, Araki himself has painted each photograph with seven colors of marker, creating an unprecedented photographic work.
In addition, approximately 20 new prints shot with a medium-format camera are also on display, presenting a body of work that, while distinct from the "Married Women's Eros" series, more richly captures the intimate relationship between the photographer and his subjects. A limited edition of 500 copies of the photo collection "Photos of Married Women" will also be published to coincide with this exhibition.
Araki states, "The married women themselves are art." Through the act of photographing and being photographed, he draws out expressions that they do not show their husbands, and their allure as women, exuding eros while simultaneously questioning the meaning of living as a woman.
Nobuyoshi Araki Exhibition "Photos of Married Women"
Dates: Friday, November 8, 2013 – Sunday, January 19, 2014. Closed Mondays and December 28 (Sat) – January 6 (Mon).
Hours: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Venue: Rat Hole Gallery
B1, 5-5-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-6419-3581
Nobuyoshi Araki Photo Collection "Photos of Married Women"
Release Date: Friday, November 8
Publisher: Rat Hole Gallery
Details: 160 pages
Edition: Limited to 500 copies (price not yet determined)
