Araki, Tokyo Lucky Hole

This is a collage of still life, pornography and cityscapes. Nobuyoshi Araki is one of Japan’s best-known artists, and his photograph feature in exhibitions in all the leading museums of the world. For more than thirty years he has been working on a project that is close to his heart: a portrait of the Tokyo that lies beyond all moral values and taboos. His artistic strategy is simple yet extremely effective. In his books, of which over 100 have been published in Japan, he juxtaposes snapshots with nude photos, and still life with hardcore pornography. The photos for Tokyo Lucky Hole were taken between 1983-85 in Sinjuku, Tokyo’s famous red light district, which was closed by judicial decree in 1985. In over 800 photos, Araki documents life in this forbidden city : from the customer whose every desire is satisfied, to prostitutes after a hard working day, from slaves in their dominatrix’ cage to the show girl in the peep-show.