Nobuyoshi Araki

Flower and Arakimono


Nobuyoshi Araki is a living legend of photography. He has been actively involved in the industry for decades, and his work has reshaped the way we view the world. His unrelenting ability to maximize the potential of the discipline and create new visual experiences has defined him as both a pioneer and revolutionary. In his diverse repertoire, polaroids occupy a special place. Every day Araki captures images with his Polaroid 600, sorts the resulting works, and selects which belong together as part of an exhibition. Among his most famous series are Flower, ARAKIMONO, Kinbaku, and Sky, which have received international recognition.


In his polaroids, the artist addresses the themes of love, sexuality, and attraction, staging them alongside the omnipresent metaphysical struggle of mortality. He combines abundance and transience using strong colors and even stronger contrasts, making himself a driving force in the world of photography. Araki’s persistent productivity, even at the age of 80, is reflected in his works, which portray growth and decay.


In his Flower series, Araki showcases the symbolic beauty of flowers in a lush and direct manner. In a competition of colors, the foliage wrestles, intent on overcoming the darkness of non-existence. Beauty and death embrace intimately in these polaroids.


Sensuality and eroticism, which are primarily associated with the name Araki, can be observed in the ARAKIMONO shots: the model spreads her legs while looking confidently at the camera, lending a certain strength to her revealing poses. Araki blends sexuality and social constraints like no other. He considers himself a provocateur, or a Photo Devil, who transcends the norms and oversteps the boundaries of supposedly good taste. In return, he is loved and revered - and frequently censored.


Nobuyoshi Araki's portfolio is of impressive scale. Over 500 books have been filled with his works and exhibitions across the globe feature thousands of his works. Despite increasing thematic diversity over the years, he has always remained true to his style, which is characterized by intimacy and sensuality.
The polaroids from the Flower and ARAKIMONO series arrived directly from the legendary artist's studio and feature signatures on the front.

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
Sammlung Goetz, München