EXHIBITIONS

Nobuyoshi Araki “Koki No Shashin : Photographs of A Seventy Year Old”

Dates: May 8 – Jun 5, 2010
Opening reception: Tuesday, May 25, 17:00 – 19:00

Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to announce our forthcoming solo exhibition with Nobuyoshi Araki, “Koki No Shashin : Photographs of A Seventy Year Old”. Coinciding with the celebration of his 70th birthday, he will be presenting new works in both black and white and color, photographed with his FujiGF670 camera.

70 is the entrance to photography. If I don’t live till 100 I won’t be able to take photographs.

Nobuyoshi Araki

Turning 70 is a pivotal turning point for Nobuyoshi Araki. He has continued to produce works focusing on the theme of Ero (sex/life) and Thanatos (death). These two elements run along a parallel line and cannot be considered separate from one another. If Ero(s) is an essential “impulse for life”, in return Thanatos is an “impulse towards death” and is a portrayal of destructive instinct. Araki exists constantly within this realm of life and death.

From Araki’s work we gain a deep sense of love. As a result of his meticulous insistence on photographic portrayal, he has continued to “converse” with his subjects through the use of film. The “real world” viewed through Araki’s eyes, and his vision which penetrates both “the seeing” and the “being seen” breathes life into his work.

What has influenced his latest work is the recent death of his beloved cat, Chiro. After the death of his wife the two had continued their life together. The sense of loss and isolation as a result of losing the ones dear to him and feeling “death” close at hand, has lead Araki to a far deeper lust for life (sex). In embracing death there is an overflowing vitality and strengthened obsession towards life felt within his work. Life (sex) cannot exist without death.

What lies ahead for Araki now at 70, after presenting his posthumous work (“2THESKY, my Ender”) last year ? In this exhibit Araki both turns his eyes towards the future whilst reflecting upon his past. In his own words, his “past works give (him) the motivation and also become the reason for creating new work. Now standing at “the entrance” to photography, Araki strives in his utmost pursuit for the potential both in himself and in photography. This is a personal letter of challenge which Araki presents to himself.

New publication forthcoming: “Koki No Shashin : Photographs of A Seventy Year Old”
Retail price:¥7,350-(TAX included), Published by Taka Ishii Gallery, Limited edition of 500, soft cover, total 120 pages, H316 x W261mm, anticipated release date: May 25, 2010

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