Nobuyoshi Araki: Polarnography

In a limited edition of 1,000, nestled in a jewelry-box-proportioned precious object itself protected by a larger canvas and acetate container, 100 never-before-published Polaroids, taken by erotic master Nobuyoshi Araki (born 1940), divide their surfaces between images of women and images of the sky. Polarnography collects these objects, box and photographs, in perfect facsimile of their originals. The juxtapositions Araki assembles on the surface of these Polaroids match each other in shapes and colors: lucid clear skies, stark flash on nude skin or fiery overcast sunsets, the mingling of confrontation and vulnerability in bondage. This manifestation of Araki’s work is unique in the photographer’s otherwise prolific output, as an object to either hide or display, not content to remain inert on the collector’s bookshelf.