Nobuyoshi Araki: Flowers

Nobuyoshi Araki is a Japanese photographer known for his provocative and erotic shots, and for his recurrent presence in Japanese media and cultural scene. The three main themes of the artist are Tokyo city, death and sex. He likes to photograph naked women, these women either being tied up in the traditional japanese bondage method of “Kinbaku" or in the sex clubs of Tokyo. During the course of his career he has been arrested multiple times for obscenity, notably due to his close up shots of female genitalia. One of his favorite models was his wife, who he photographed from their honeymoon until her death in 1990.

The artist produced a significant number of photos of flowers, which at first may seem to be a contrast to the rest of his work, but in fact perfectly corresponded to the rest of his art. His first flower photographs were taken in 1973 during the Buddhist festival of Ohigan. The wilting bouquets in black and white evoke notions of death and decline, favorite themes of the artist. For Araki, flowers are also a metaphor for feminine genitalia. He puts emphasis on color, close-up framing and large formats, letting the artist highlight the texture and luminous reflections that form through the sap and the petals.

Let yourself be drawn in by the light and the hypnotic colors of Nobuyoshi Araki's flowers, available on Artsper.