The exhibition presents a section of the famous photographer’s world of beauty, a little everyday and countless eroticised women.

Araki sees himself as a pure photography machine. Where life thanks to his obsession with seeing and his tireless hyperactive creativity turns into a long stream of images in which snapshots are effortlessly mixed with carefully planned compositions.

Araki’s approach is quite matter-of-fact. He shares his personal fantasies and invites the viewer into a controversial world of extreme eroticism. He explores human pleasure while confronting contradictions in Japanese society where strict laws for censorship are in contrast to a long tradition for erotic imagery.

The motifs range from poetic depictions of the old Tokyo to sensual close-ups of tied-up women in kimonos. Inspired by Shunga the erotic art from the Edo period (1603 – 1867) as well as the depiction of our contemporary world by glitzy magazines, ARAKI’s work deals with tabooed subjects such as sex, nudity, dominance, submission and death straight on. Here the ecstatic moment of photography is coupled with death and the transitory nature of life. Araki’s images are personal and highly voyeuristic. At once shocking and fascinating.

The exhibition is conceived by Georg Mathiasen and arranged in collaboration with Araki.